Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

VE Day memories

MY mother had taken me to the cinema on that memorable day. The audience were mainly ladies who were separated from their husbands in military service. They sought the reassuring glamour of the Hollywood movie. Their own star was on some distant land, but Clarke Gable was there, smooching on a silver screen. The cinema was more of a meeting place where information and gossip could be exchanged whilst sipping tea served in a china cup, with its saucer, from a big metal teapot by the tea lady.

Suddenly the door at the back of the cinema burst open and a young woman rushed in. Shouting, as loudly as she could ‘It’s over, it’s over, the war, it’s over’. The audience erupted into shouts and screams of joy.

The pavements outside were overflowing with people celebrating the moment. Such laughter and happiness could imprint no greater visual memory of that moment on this young boy’s mind.

The jubilant audience were there to join an ecstatic promenade whilst the celluloid Hollywood lovers were still locked in their black and white embrace, completely detached by the flickering light of a projector bulb from this momentous point in history, my unforgotten history.

Terry Buchanan, Chippenham

Please think again

NICK Baxter (Letters 20 Feb) writes that ‘Churchill Retirement Living’s plans to build in The Pippin, in Calne town centre goes against the Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan’. It certainly does and thank goodness both the Town Council and Wiltshire Council have rejected Churchill’s plans; as they rejected earlier plans from them; and four years ago rejected a very similar proposal from McCarthy Stone. When will these companies ever learn? They are welcome to come to Calne but please don’t build bang in the middle of our town.

Since becoming a town councillor in 2017 I have taken an interest in planning issues and have studied several reports on regenerating the high street and revitalising town centres. These all agree that to address the decline in retail, towns need to be offering ‘experiences and events’. Culture, heritage and technology can all play an important part in this. The cleanliness of the town, the condition of roads and pavements, good use of public realm, imaginative repurposing of buildings etc also help make a town centre more attractive and attract visitors.

These reports have drawn on experiences of towns across Britain and in other countries. Not one has mentioned accommodation for the elderly as a good trigger to bring a town centre back to life. Churchill Retirement Living please note!

Your ‘actively retired’ residents do not need to live within 30 metres of two supermarkets (Iceland and Sainsburys) with 6am deliveries. Your promotional videos show them at the golf course and the gym, enjoying foreign holidays and out and about visiting friends and family. They do not need to live within shuffling distance of shops and cafes. Why not build your retirement home five or 10 minutes walk from the town centre, where it is generally quieter and more pleasant to live; and where there would be room for decent gardens?

I urge you to respect the Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan - which represents our aspirations, and not to try to impose a retirement living block on Calne’s town centre, which for so many reasons, is absolutely the wrong location.

Cllr John Boaler, Calne Central Ward (Labour), Woodland Park, Calne

Cost of campaigning

I SOMEHOW knew that Nigel Carter and my letters criticising Jo Ripley for boasting about being arrested for laying down in the road at the Extinction Rebellion at their ten day long ‘Rebellion’ in the heart of London would attract the attention of Dr Brian Mathew, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for North Wiltshire & County Councillor for Box and Colerne.

I do know nonsense when I read it Brian Mathew and your letter is pure nonsense, it shows why the Liberal Democrats will never come to power again in this country with attitudes like yours.

I notice that Extinction Rebellion never ever disrupt the main culprits of climate change nor bring their activities to a standstill, they always pick on the normal population of this country, knowing that they will be treated with kid gloves by the police. They see fit to cost this country millions upon million even though this country is doing more than any other to try and combat it!

If they had climate change as their genuine campaign cause they would be bringing the American, Chinese, Russian and Indian Embassies to a full stop by invading them and smashing their armoured windows with lump hammers and chisels.

When I think of the untold damage done by these people and the cost of it which could be better spent on the NHS and trying to save the globe I could cry.

Stuart Eels, John Aubrey Close, Yatton Keynell, Chippenham

Is it really wise to build here?

THe images Westmead on Avon 5 and 6 capture the sunset from the bridge over the Avon at Avenue La Fleche, looking across the meadow towards Chippenham Community Hospital. Westmead on Avon 1 shows how the Westmead playing field floods, the second time in almost as many weeks.

I also include an image from the planning application granted by the council to build a climbing centre, skate park, access road and car parking. Everything in the proposed planning application shown here is underwater, up to a depth of approximately two feet.

Along the line of trees running left to right towards the red hut you can see a chain linked fence which is the Wessex Water boundary fence. Zoom in and you will see that the yard there seems to be under water. This would be the boundary with the climbing centre.

The red building in the centre of the image shows how close the water level is to flooding across the existing flat area and into the car park. I think there is a wider story here as to how planning permission was granted, given that local people know how this area floods.

The meadow on the opposite side of Avenue La Fleche, the Pewsham side, was planted with trees some 20 years ago after it was deemed to be unsuitable for building on, and the meadow area to the west of the river shown in the sunset images has, I believe, been earmarked as a country park/green area under the town plans for the future, again after plans to build there were abandoned due to flood risk 20-plus years ago.

Chris Jones, Chippenham

Don’t risk lives in floodwaters

AS A member of the Dorset and Wilts Fire and Rescue Fire Authority I was delighted to join members of Chippenham fire station on a river rescue exercise on the River Avon in Chippenham last week.

As always I was very impressed by the skill and knowledge of the officers and how they rescue people from the water, ensuring public safety, especially following the recent weather conditions and the flooding many communities have experienced.

The main lesson I learned was how quick you can get into trouble if you do not have the right equipment and never take any river, canal or the sea for granted, it can easily catch you out and put you and the people who have to rescue in danger.

We have all seen the recent effects of large amounts of rainfall and how it impacts on our communities and residents. We should all be mindful and take extra care when walking on flooded, grassed areas, driving through partially flooded roads and walking to close to edges of rivers, canals and the shoreline and treat the water with the greatest of respect.

Cllr Peter J Hutton, DWFRS Fire authority member for Chippenham