To the people who live in Chippenham, work in Chippenham, shop in Chippenham, and mostly to the people at Wiltshire Council and the town council, why have you let this lovely town fall into the terrible state that it is now in?

I was once proud to be a resident of Chippenham. Why are the people who object to this, and that, so negative?

“We dont want 4000-plus new houses,” they say, and I absolutely agree with them, we don’t, we need 10,000 new houses. We need to grow, not stagnate.

Businesses will not invest in a town that is dying on its feet.

The main street is a shambles, with charity shops, coffee shops, banks and building societies. Yes, there are a few independant traders, and very good they are too, but we need a good range of shops selling a wide range of goods in the town, not out of town.

As for entertainment, what is there? Not much. There may be plans afoot to change this, but this should have been done 20 years ago.

The roads and the pavements are not just bad, they are dangerous. There are huge potholes in the roads, uneven paving slabs, where people old and young trip and fall.

Some slabs have been replaced with Tarmac, obviously a cheaper alternative than relaying them properly.

What future is there going to be for the youngsters of tomorrow? Not a very bright one, I think.

You may think that I am a very negative person, but come on people, tell your councillors what you want for this town, before it is to late.

Let’s make Chippenham a place where people will come to shop, and visit, and while I have still got my moaning hat on, why not spend some of our taxes revamping all of the disgraceful public toilets in the town. Wake up, people of Chippenham, smell the coffee.

Mr R C Barnett, Broadstone, Corsham.