Sir – Ray Anniss’s letter (Gazette, October 30) makes the point that the majority of morning traffic leaves Carterton towards Witney and Oxford and in the evening this direction is reversed.

This is commuting traffic, made necessary by the building of too many houses in the town without ensuring that the numbers are matched by employment opportunities. Building another 700-plus houses in Carterton will only increase the numbers commuting to jobs in other locations.

The answer is to build the houses where the jobs are, not to increase the number of commuters.

We will all benefit from less commuting, the worker will have more free time and reduced living costs, the rest of us will suffer from less pollution and less congestion on our roads.

Keeping the development of Carterton within its existing boundaries will hurt no-one except the developers and landowners involved and possibly the egos of a few councillors.

Carterton should concentrate on making its centre more attractive and encouraging more industry on to the currently under-occupied sites.

There is, after all, no need to duplicate the infrastructure, facilities and amenities that exist in Witney, which is only six miles away.

Selwyn Shorrock, Carterton Road, Brize Norton