THE Fire Station project is win win for all - your headline in the Evesham Journal of May 28 should have an addition as follows:

Who cannot see the wood for the trees!

In the saved planning policy Local Plan and the Wychavon District Council retail study, three town centres are highlighted for retail use, all of which were described as selling comparison goods(i.e. non-food). It appears that the saved Local Plan is used to determine and restrict various development throughout the district but this is ignored when the planners of Wychavon District Council consider their own applications.

Vale shoppers and visitors would welcome a Waitrose store, but to site this on another car park off Merstow Green must be an ill judged decision. Ten million pounds would be better used in promoting the Riverside Shopping Centre to a John Lewis/Waitrose superstore and opening up the Public Hall for use by the residents of the expanding Vale of Evesham.

Wychavon District Council supported and contributed to the Riverside Development which was doomed from the outset due to a very poor traffic system which has become considerably worse over the years.

The future of Evesham lies in heritage, tourism, interesting shops, cafes and restaurants. However I fear that these win win for all decisions, together with the major out of town retail development have created a commercial environment which will be difficult to overcome in the town centre. (It would help to get rid of trash market stalls, taxi drivers parking creating u-turns in the High Street and parking wardens).

JAMES T POWELL Evesham