I WAS astounded with Germaine Greer’s article about the expansion of Stansted airport with the ironic title Come, friendly planes, and land on my back yard (News Review, last week). She may live a mere 16 miles away from the airport but much nearer to home and in her back yard is the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, where she has been campaigning for flights to be curtailed and is on record as saying: “I have to suffer the nuisance of pilots flying pleasure trippers every 10 minutes all day Saturday and Sunday, up and down my hedgerow”.

Presumably hypocrisy and “classic snivelling Nimbyism” only applies to stockbrokers and local celebrities but does not extend to academics such as Greer. I don’t think there would have been a smile on her face in the photograph accompanying the article if it had been a de Havilland Dragon Rapide flying overhead.

Gerard Walbanke
Thaxted, Essex

NIGHTMARE: Greer was disingenuous in stating that the government ought to sanction one or preferably two new runways at Stansted airport “so near my own house”. In fact, she lives 16 miles away from the airport and not under any flight paths.

She also had the strange argument that a Stansted rural city created by architects with bold, innovative, radical, integrated solutions would be good for people and wildlife — then ends up by saying that “nobody in power knows enough about new structural solutions to old problems to see the opportunity, let alone seize it.”

So, Greer wants to destroy a beautiful and historic part of rural England for a dream which she admits will not come true. How can anyone take her seriously?

Peter Riding
Saffron Walden, Essex

CHANGE OF TUNE: Greer has pulled off another stunt. Let’s have another runway, she urges; no, hang on, let’s make that two for good measure. And then we can go on flying as much as we like with a clear conscience.

Well, forgive my snorts of derision, but Nimbyism has not always been so unpalatable to Greer. Some time ago, in a Cambridge Union Society debate about the future growth of Cambridge and its sub-region, she seemed happy enough on the “no growth here” team, arguing that Cambridge couldn’t possibly take any more development.

Fortunately for Cambridge, Greer lost that argument and the city is set to grow and house its population and fulfil its potential to be a decent, socially inclusive modern city.

The people “in power”, in whom she has so little faith, have made good decisions about that.

Nichola Harrison
Executive Councillor for Environment,
Cambridge City Council