IT is very sad that Peter Powell, chair of Nether Poppleton Parish Council, appears to be suffering from memory loss, (Letters, October 3). I should like to set the record straight. I was a Nether Poppleton parish councillor at the time the Poppleton Junior Football Club raised the need for extra sports facilities within the village with the council.

The parish council, at this stage, did nothing other than complain among themselves that there was nowhere available in the village that would not cause difficulties with parking.

There was certainly no collective interest in actively pursuing options. It was only when the campaign started to grow and there was little, if any, opposition from residents to the club's plight, that they decided to be supportive.

Regarding the involvement of the Labour Party, as a Labour parish councillor I gave as much assistance as I could to the football club's representative. I raised the issue with my party branch and won their backing.

My branch and I wrote several letters to the council, expressing our support for the extension of facilities required within the village.

I even went with their representatives to meet council officers to discuss the availability of land.

Finally, there is no such thing as a "non-political" parish council. Everyone has political views that shape their approach, whether or not they choose to align themselves with a specific party.

Of course chair Powell's alignment is now clear for all to see, having stood as a Lib-Dem candidate in the last local elections and this probably explains his earlier fence-sitting and attempt to distort the facts.

Jane Overhill-Smith,

Vale of York Labour Party,

Nether Poppleton,

York.

Updated: 10:29 Wednesday, October 17, 2001