Scale is out of all proportion

I suspect that district councillors have now got themselves into a situation where they are reluctant to back track on this proposal for fear of losing face (and money). However, they should think about what future generations will feel about their decision. In the past, proposals have very nearly been passed (such as the demolition of the town hall) which, had they taken place, it is now acknowledged would have been disastrous. If this scheme goes ahead, councillors will earn the oppobrium of future Leamingtonians. Somebody obviously thought it was a good idea to demolish period buildings and erect Shire Hall - does anyone now think this hideous edifice enhances Warwick?

Development on the site is not necessarily a bad idea, although this is the most used, and handiest, car park in the town. It is the scale of the development which is out of all proportion to the area. Valued businesses are to be lost, homes demolished, other homes overshadowed and deprived of light, sunshine and peace and quiet. Whole streets are to disappear. Traffic is to be increased threefold. Everyone in the area, and shoppers, are to be subjected to three years of noisy, dirty building work.

Meanwhile, with all resources focussed on the Clarendon Arcade, presumably the undervalued and unsupported bottom end of the town will be allowed by uninterested councillors to sink into neglect and dereliction.

The attraction of Leamington as a shopping area is in its individual, different and very varied small shops to be found all over the town. This is the shopping style which needs to be encouraged, not an ugly white elephant full of the same retailers who are found on every high street. We already have this to some extent in the Royal Priors.

There are numerous empty shops in the town. These will increase if the Clarendon Arcade goes ahead, as, inevitably, some existing businesses will relocate into it. People continue to struggle to set up unique businesses, for example, in Regent Grove, but they are failing, partly because everything is concentrated in the top of the town. Why doesn’t the District Council do something really innovative, for example, make Regent Grove a pedestrianised area, with a market down the middle of the trees, and pavement cafes? This would help to draw shoppers down the Parade, and would be an immediate attraction for the customers of the proposed hotel on the old Bobby’s site.

The proposal to erect this monstrous over-provision of unwanted and unnecessary shopping space in a residential area, to be filled with yet more tatty chains such as are found in every cloned town in England is a terrible mistake. If I need that sort of shopping, I can go to Solihull or Coventry. Leamington is a Regency town, with a character and ambiance which attracts people and which are worth preserving. The recent changes to the scheme are cosmetic only and fail to address the main problem, which is size.

Finally, it is nonsense to say that 750 more jobs will be provided - this will not happen as staff of compulsorarily purchased businesses lose their jobs, more businesses go under and others simply transfer existing staff to new premises within the development. - Hilary Roberts, via email.