Rejection anger (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Rejection anger

6:00pm Thursday 21st June 2012 in Letters

Here we go again. I note that just two of Malmesbury’s finest councillors have rejected the idea of a half-decent Italian restaurant in the town, citing smells and sewerage as the predominant reason.

Have they noticed the Indian takeaway a few metres distant or the fact that qualified drainage experts can actually fix the problem? Of course not.

These are the people who have done nothing to expunge the ‘Malmesbury Rocks’ sign which presents the upper High Street on a par with Blackpool and not the lovely historic town that Malmesbury is, but I was forgetting the fact that the owner of that particular outlet was a councillor too. These are the people who encourage empty shops, drive away vacuum cleaner manufacturing, and persist with mountainous speed humps, and wish to retain the barely acceptable town’s supermarket rather than support a modern, well-stocked supermarket.

The eateries presently in the town perform a useful function but there is clearly a need for personal choice and for those who like Italian food we have to tramp to either Cirencester, Chippenham or Swindon. There is absolutely no good reason for the rejection. Let us hope that the planning officer, blessed with foresight, common sense and vision, will support this venture and give us what we want.

If it is possible for a resident from a local village to sit on the town council then vote me in, I’ll bring something to the council table which is sadly lacking at present – and it won’t be pizza.

Pete Pitcher, Little Somerford.