I have sympathy with the views of David Hagen, the owner of the Catalina Lakefront Retreat, about the proposal to locate the hangar on one of the sites of the original western hangars of the former base, as it would interfere with the current views of the lake from the retreat. However, we must be very careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

The photo with the article shows that if the Catalina hangar was built on the eastern site of the two western hangars it would have minimal impact on the views from the retreat. The construction of a hangar to house a restored Catalina plane would be a great tourist attraction, and a reward for the thousands of voluntary hours spent working on the dilapidated Catalina brought in from Puerto Rico at significant cost.

This is such an important World War II historical site that it should not be remembered by a large, ugly concrete slab. There must be a win-win solution to be managed by Lake Macquarie City Council in consultation with all parties. It would be a travesty if the proposed hangar was stifled by vested interests and intransigence. There must be a sensible compromise.

- Alex McDonald, Rathmines

I JUST read the story "Town won't cope with crowds" (Lakes Mail, October 17) about the proposed Cedar Mill development in Morisset, and I couldn't agree more with Sunshine Progress Association. This oversized development will cause so many problems for our area - traffic being the major one, but also noise, unacceptable behaviour from some patrons, and littering in Morisset is bad enough now. That will just get worse.

And what about the wildlife that lives there? Or don't they matter? Obviously not when you look at the disgraceful land clearing going on in the area. Yes, Cedar Mill would benefit some in the short term, especially the developer and council. But they don't have to live here. A development of the site would be good, but this one just has too many things in one spot. The majority of us that have chosen to live here did so to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city.

- Tammy Wayman, Dora Creek

POST the resounding success of Josh Angus in the last federal election, local members of the National Party have come together to form the newest branch of the party right here in Lake Macquarie. It is evident that with the result of the last federal election that Lake Macquarie is seeing an increasing amount of people crying out for representation from the party. In the future, this will prove to be an integral part of our community especially with the party's ethos that you think local and vote National.

- Nicholas Stibbard, Thornton

THE proposed construction and use of diesel engines and gas turbines to power small power stations of around 250MW makes a lot more sense than hydro pump systems delivering the same output.

They cost far less to build, don't need a water supply, and can be built almost anywhere to produce power at any time of day, regardless of weather conditions. And they can do it all without a cost factor of up to 30 per cent inefficiency as occurs with hydro pump systems. So why are hydro pump systems even considered?

The sooner common sense takes charge with our power supply, the sooner we can move on, and industry can plan their future. We have been kept in limbo for far too long chasing rainbows for dreamers. The dreaming time is over. Reality is now the necessity.

- Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek

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Letters to the editor: Views calling for climate action deserve respect (Oct 10)

Letters to the editor: The case for splitting NSW into two states (Oct 3)