John Comley has asked for someone to explain the opposition to the Range and the employment that it will bring to the town. I would like to say there is no opposition to the employment opportunities, even though the number of jobs that will be created is disputed. The opposition is to the proposed location of the RDC. This location is green field and has never been identified in any plans for any other use than agricultural. As it is this is nothing more than a speculative land grab by the developers who have been offered some land at a cheaper price than the land which is available for development at junction 17 of the motorway.

As an aside, there was a laughable allegation that the land was being sold by the owner of Allington Farm Shop and he was objecting to The Range development as it would be in competition to his shop. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would see the flaw in this allegation.

If the developers had followed the council development plans then there would have been little opposition. Instead they hoped to bully the town into accepting a building that would occupy the same amount of land as Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Remember their threat that if the plan was not passed at the beginning of the year, they would look elsewhere?

The opposition is not solely based on the destruction of the Roman ruins but on carefully considered evidence submitted by the statutory bodies, planning laws and criterion and informed opinion.

This includes the volume of extra traffic; 95 per cent of which will travel from and to the motorway, increased noise, light pollution, access to the site and impact on the town. Most of the claims made by the developers about the benefits to the town have been shown to be gross exaggerations and disingenuous at best. Sadly some people have swallowed these as gospel. Likewise there are many who still believe this just a retail unit, not an RDC with a retail unit attached.

If the distribution centre must be built in the area, then it should be built in an appropriately identified area which fits into the council plans, not where there is the opportunity to buy some land cheaply. Likewise, there is no requirement for the shop to be co-located with the centre so that could be put in the town or on existing brownfield sites.

There is no opposition to development or employment per se. Just opposition to development in the wrong place that does not conform to core planning criteria.

JOHN BELCHER Queens Crescent, Chippenham