Let me digress for a moment to say I have attended two meetings of Chatteris Town Council in the recent past.

Thankfully, I know some of the members of the council from other activities within the town.

Other members were unknown to me so I sent two letters to the town clerk to find how I might identify these people.

I made the point in my letter that none of these people has ever knocked on my door to solicit my views and that is in 20 years as a resident of Chatteris.

Back to the central point, I attended both the Town Council and the planning committee meetings where the proposed superstore was discussed.

The discussion in the Town Council saw one member of the public treated really quite rudely when he was trying to establish what he thought the Town Council's stance ought to be with respect to the planning application.

The same person spoke at the planning committee and was treated with civility and understanding. Indeed, he received an ovation from the members of the public for the clarity with which he put his arguments.

In all the submissions I have been party to with regard to the superstore, the view has been wholly supportive of the proposition.

However, the secondary views expressed are that the proposed siting will do nothing for the town centre and may actively detract from same.

The more important view, though, is that the siting of the superstore on the far side of the A141 trunk road is nothing short of insane.

Part of the proposal calls for a zebra crossing on the A141, its two sides split by a central refuge.

Some members of the planning committee said they had attended a site viewing and their vehicle was continually blasted sideways by the draught from passing lorries.

It was on the grounds of the siting of the proposed superstore that the application was declined. Perhaps Ms Colbert would change her view of the siting of the superstore once somebody was killed in attempting to cross the highly dangerous A141.

With regard to the bus service she refers to, it is only to be provided for three years, whereupon it will be reviewed to determine whether it is viable.

I conclude by saying I did not see Coun Colbert at the planning committee, so perhaps she should remember to be better informed before she starts alarming her constituents with claims about Fenland District Council "letting down" the people of Chatteris.

TERRY SCHOOLING
Chatteris