Having been to The Range exhibition, I can now answer the questions I posed for myself in my last letter (Gazette, January 8).

This scheme is far worse than I feared: should planning permission be granted, it represents the first but irreversible stage in the destruction of the countryside around Chippenham, the hollowing-out of the town centre and the continuing deterioration of existing brownfield sites within its boundaries.

It holds out a spurious promise of more employment, but this is hedged around with qualifications.

It holds out the promise of long-term prosperity, but those who will profit most from the scheme won’t have to live with its consequences.

This scheme will hasten the death of the town centre, clog up the road network, and increase traffic jams; it will destroy the countryside and offer nothing to young people.

Chippenham is home to two of the best secondary schools in the country, both on the doorstep of this development.

Children leaving these schools over the next few years, to go on to college or university, will not be coming back for a job at The Range. Out-commuting will continue while, all the time, warehouses will continue to be built on land which was once regarded as beautiful, but which will be no longer.

We need Wiltshire Council, in the face of almost intolerable pressures, to be courageous in rejecting this scheme. A comprehensive case for doing so already exists. The consequences of approval are only too imaginable, and dreadful for all but a very few.

Dr Alison Hems, Kington St Michael.