WE attended the meeting called by the newly-formed Devizes Guardians group, to discuss the future of our town.

Kennet District Council's behaviour regarding our Market Place, especially the removal of the trees and the parking spaces, does seem to have made people aware of the mismanagement and lack of communication with and consideration for our town and its residents.

Jerry Willmott's claim that he acted as he did because he believed passionately it was right for Devizes, is typical of the arrogance of the officers who are employed by Kennet to work and act on our behalf.

That thousands of residents who signed petitions care even more passionately about our town is beneath their notice, since those residents do not agree with their actions.

We would refer to the many letters regarding the proposed development on the Fruit Farm site at Downlands Road.

The worst is yet to come. This development will consist of 64 four and five-bedroomed homes in a cul-de-sac within the Downlands Development, which is also a cul-de-sac with more than 220 homes and two schools.

To comply with Wiltshire County Council Highways Authority, safety recommendations another access road must be (their words) available.

Neither the builders nor the council will finance this road, but permission has been granted for the development to go ahead. Building is estimated to last for two years.

Permission has also been granted for 300 homes and a school on Quakers Walk field, adjoining Roundway Park.

This will be a cul-de-sac in an existing cul-de-sac Roundway Park with only one access and exit on to the busy London Road.

Four hundred homes are about to be, built and planning permission is sought for another 755. This must result in 1,500 more cars. How does Kennet think tourists are going to reach the Market Place? Roads will be gridlocked.

Wiltshire County Council is completely ignoring our road safety. Devizes Town Council, in consultation with the residents, should have handled these vital decisions which now threaten to destroy our town.

Devizes councillors on Kennet are outnumbered by councillors representing other locations hence cannot win issues put to the vote.

We know Kennet councillors depend on information passed to them by the officers, who handle all the correspondence.

The Fruit Farm site is just within the boundary of Roundway Parish, therefore Devizes will be affected by the traffic chaos from the development.

When Kennet informed the town council experts had found the Market Place trees diseased, our council had no reason to disbelieve this.

A disaster faces Devizes owing to the arrogance, incompetence and mismanagement of the people whom we elected because we trusted them but who do not care about our quality of life or our safety, but are bent on "regenerating" Devizes into traffic-choked, over-developed non-entity. Let us all be guardians of Devizes while we still have something to guard.

MARGARET MARTIN and PAULINE ST JOHN OSLAND

Downlands Road, Devizes