I WOULD like to respond to a letter written in the April 9 edition titled: Opposed to homes.

Thank you for your letter about the above proposed development and the comments made by the Chairman of the Planning Committee on Monday 30th March 2015.

I am sorry but the comments that you have attributed to me are not mine.  I am indeed Mayor of Marlborough and in that capacity Chairman of the Council.  The Mayor in fact is ex officio on the Planning Committee and does not have a vote.

Councillor Mervin Hall is the Chairman of the Planning Committee and it was in this capacity that he made his Chairman’s announcements at the start of the planning committee on 30th March 2015.  I believe his comments can be attributed to his welcoming a new primary school for the town.

The Town Council always takes a balanced view of all planning issues.  You will have noted from the local paper that the Town Council has on many occasions voted against and fought very hard to stop certain planning applications in the town that it felt were not in the resident’s interest.  Councillors although unpaid volunteers regularly go down to the unitary council planning committee to speak against such proposals.

The Town Council are only consultees in the planning process; all the major decisions on planning are taken at unitary level.  You do have recourse to write to your Unitary Councillors.  There are two for Marlborough Councillor Nick Fogg and Councillor Stewart Dobson  both of these gentlemen sit on the Eastern Planning Committee and I am sure will be very pleased to help you.

Marian Hannaford-Dobson

Mayor of Marlborough

Cross Lane

Marlborough