I WAS most concerned to read last week about the plans for The Shambles in Devizes.

This iconic building is, apparently, to be changed to the extent that it will lose its character and appeal and it all sounds to me more like change for change's sake than progress.

We hear constantly that Wiltshire Council needs to make cuts, so why spend funds on something nobody wants? Spend them on the potholes and the schools instead!

If the plans go ahead as outlined, Devizes will lose some excellent, long-standing and much needed and supported stalls (such as the pet foods, local vegetables) and be replaced by empty boxes with shutters that will remain closed because few of them will be occupied.

Perhaps the people of Devizes should be consulted to establish how they feel, otherwise this could be another nail in the coffin of our town.

I have more and more friends who live on this side of the town who tell me they now shop in Melksham or Trowbridge due to the traffic gridlock and parking issues they encounter in Devizes.

ROSIE BERRY Rowde