AFTER reading Graham Price's letter (September 5) I felt compelled to write.

That morning my husband and I received a begging letter from the Evolution Appeal, asking for donations from the public in order to finance the cost of new equipment for the new Great Western Hospital.

They were suggesting a donation of somewhere between £25 (small), £100 (medium), and £500 (large).

Having recently read about Swindon Council's plans for the Southern Development Area (Swindon's Front Garden), where they are planning to build 4,500 houses, I have to ask, has the council gone completely mad?

How will the new hospital cope with so many more residents in the borough and what will happen if the public chooses not to donate?

This then raises further questions: Why is the hospital to the east of Swindon, with a huge new housing development being built in the west?

If you were to read the Southern Development Area's July newsletter you really would believe Swindon is on the brink of creating an urban Utopia. Yet the reality is:

Our bus station is a slum that Swindon Council should be ashamed of

Our historic buildings are crumbling and are becoming havens for drug addicts

Nobody wants to send their children to school in Swindon because of the Ofsted reports

The Social Services department is already on its knees. How will it cope with the demands of so many more residents?

Who is going to foot the bill for this development? It promises new pubic transport routes, footpaths, cycle routes, bridal ways, all homes to be in easy walking distance of a bus stop, new schools, a 1,000 space park and ride the list is endless.

Call me an old cynic, but I suspect it will end up being us the public who will have to pay the price through our taxes.

I find it ironic that the Labour Party, which once accused the Conservatives of selling off the family silver, are now trying to concrete over our countryside.

Georgina Mason

Vowley View, Wootton Bassett