NO ONE in their right mind would squeeze a helicopter base alongside not just a motorway but a whole intersection which merges with junction 16 of the M5 and just about copes with peak flows. The most concentrated area of traffic activity on the West Country map, the gateway to the South West and Wales, London and the Midlands.

This is expedient, short term planning. SGC Councillors, their planning and highways officers are deaf to the objections of local residents and long time observers.

Extreme weather, turbulent winds and frequent rain, must surely ground helicopters in an area spiked by the RAC Building, two wind turbines and multi-tier flyovers: but officers have so far dismissed the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Almondsbury is surrounded by motorways, an island in a vortex of traffic noise. The least we can hope for is to remain rural and protect Bristol's vital greenbelt on this side of the M5; the first sight of green fields and a grand Severn valley view that future residents' of the Filton development can seek out in their recreational time.

Given the intention to pack in dwellings on the Filton site, junction 16 is strategic in serving A38 traffic generated by both Filton to the south and Thornbury to the north. There is already enough tailback at the junction without adding a busy access on the very junction approach.

Our council officers and our councillors are careless about the long term legacy, meekly accepting the shameless indifference of BAE or Airbus ( or whatever it calls itself after the latest acquisition) and continue to conspire with the developers and their glossy presentations.

The shame and conscience pricking should lie firmly in the court of this band of brothers and not with the residents of Almondsbury and Bradley Stoke and the poor drivers negotiating their route on the motorway interchange , tricky enough without being distracted by a helicopter.

The base needs to remain at Filton .

Wendy Roberts

Over Lane

Almondsbury