WE have restored our property, it is not a Grade II listed building neither is it in the conservation area, but when we started work we hopefully restored sympathetically to the building, using slate roof tiles and matched new to existing windows to retain the period feel.

However planning permission took nearly a year and we had to compromise on roof height etc. We had no intention of destroying the character of the property and still we had problems.

If individuals have problems why do developers appear to have none. Increasingly in Bradford on Avon a lot of single dwellings are being knocked down and six houses are then squeezed into the same space, with no thought for the surrounding problems of parking and pedestrians.

Trowbridge, not noted for its architecture, has made a magnificent job of the Conigre area of the old bus station and the conservation of the buildings opposite are to be applauded. The properties in Duke Street are also worth a mention. So why does Bradford find it so difficult when there is more at stake?

What's next? I hear the Witches Cottage is for sale, maybe that would be a excellent site for a block of flats or even better the Tithe Barn would be ideal as a multi-storey car park, that would be very 'modern' indeed!

MRS P COLEMAN

Bradford on Avon