'More houses mean more emissions and busier roads' - Your Letters: January 23

It is clear from the inspectors’ rejection of Shropshire's Local Plan that the government wants more houses built, with a particular focus on those facilitating overspill from the West Midlands conurbation.

All these houses will generate more traffic on limited road space. Consider the development of the Ironbridge Power Station site as but one example. Most of these houses will generate two cars each with no credible transport alternative in this environmentally-sensitive area.

You'd think that at some point the Secretary of State might wake up to the fact that more houses mean more emissions and busier roads and provide funding that allows, as it does in the Metropolitan areas, the development of better bus and rail services.

In reality, it's build more houses with no extra money to give people an alternative to the car. There's much said in Government about the need to make public transport the 'preferred choice', but fine words are nothing without the financial means to do it.

They continue to have a rather hollow ring.

Mike Crump, Bridgnorth

BE A VOLUNTEER FOR THE NSPCC

The joy of Christmas has passed, the New Year celebrations are over and January’s cold, wintry days are upon us. For many, this can be a bleak time of year, but January can also be a great time to make new choices are start doing something different.

One way to tackle the New Year blues is to take up volunteering for a charity like the NSPCC and Childline. 

Volunteering gives people a reason to get out the house or to connect with others in a virtual space, and to form new friendships while offering vital support to children and young people across the UK. Volunteering can be flexible and accommodating to suit people’s different lifestyles and time pressures and there are a host of different roles to suit everyone, with a wealth of support and training for all.

We have many varied volunteering opportunities on offer at the NSPCC in the West Midlands, such as becoming a Childline counsellor, a member of our school service team or raising essential funds with local events and activities.

There are so many ways to support the NSPCC as a volunteer, and we would greatly appreciate your support during the winter of 2025 and beyond. Visit  nspcc.org.uk/volunteer to find out more about opportunities in the West Midlands.

Rachel Wallace, NSPCC

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