• IT is with sadness and distress that I read the misinformed and angry letter from Todd Berman and Andrew Neale (Why we oppose this new Abacus application, July 11) about the community initiative of Abacus school, a project where the community came together in Belsize Park to solve a problem of no primary school for our children.

The Old Hampstead police station is sold for the use of Abacus school. It is no longer in the market, no one else wanted the building due to it being listed and therefore of no profit to a developer.

The police will never come back to the building, it doesn’t suit modern policing and they operated for years from two rooms inside it, with the rest empty. Incidentally, Boris Johnson sold it and cut the police force so we have a lot to look forward to if he becomes prime minister don’t we?

Abacus is and always was a walk-to-school school, it’s written on our website. There is no parking allocated for staff or parents on the new plans. The money allocated for free schools is out of a different pot and would not end up, sadly in our state schools. It doesn’t work like that.

I am in total agreement with Todd Berman about pollution in our neigh­bourhood so may I suggest he joins the NW3 Green group to promote school buses, walk or scoot to school?

I have joined them, another community group of parents who have got together to try to solve the pollution in our area caused, mainly by the private schools, delivering their children to school by car from outside the area.

We are all the wiser when we get together in communities to make things better for others and to take leadership with change. But please be open to the needs of others and be involved in that.

Might I encourage parents from Abacus school to write to the newspapers telling of how they couldn’t find places in a primary for their children and that they are committed to walking to Hampstead from Belsize, something we all do locally?

Why would you go in a car when you can’t park and we live in a lovely area like ours? Tweet for positive messages too. I am!

Everyone please write to Camden planning in support of the wonderful little school, it’s too good an establishment to destroy.

LINDA GROVE
NW3