WITH all due respect to Mr Davis in his reply to my letter concerning the County Ground redevelopment, I am aware of the area Trust STFC and the football club consider to be open space.

The cricket and athletic grounds may be fenced off, but are still classed as open space, which Swindon cannot afford to lose. An issue Mr Davis had no answer to.

Mr Davis seems confused as to which side of the fence his arguments lie. While supporting the use of the cricket and athletic grounds for redevelopment he also has doubts as to whether these areas can be moved elsewhere.

As he puts it "the council and Sport England will not permit the move without a significant enhancement of existing facilities," therefore how can these facilities be redeveloped for any use other than cricket and athletics?

As for the County Ground being a gateway to the town centre, traffic coming into the town will still see the south stand unless it is to be rebuilt.

Let's be realistic, any new visitors will be concentrating on the Magic Roundabout rather than how the County Ground looks!

Redevelopments won't help to regenerate the area, as the club is unlikely to give a big cash injection for improvements.

If the football club needs extra income to stay afloat why do they not look for commercial land to develop instead of wanting to take away publicly owned land?

K LEAKEY

Broad Street Area

Community Council

Swindon