THE backbone of every rural county is its farmers. They have had a hard time in recent years, what with pressures from supermarkets, foot and mouth etc.

Now I am told they are going to lose yet another livestock market in Wiltshire and be made to drive their stock miles to Frome or Bristol.

County council seems not content with messing about with Wiltshire's records, it wants to push out the farmers' livestock market so they can move them there!

Now in Cornwall we think our local county councillors should do what we want, not just do as they are told by their party bosses.

Seems to me that the farmers and people in Wiltshire need to wake up their county councillors and remind them strongly that they face an election in six months time, and it is high time they started working for them.

MRS G WEEDON

Stithians

Truro

THROWING the livestock market off the Cocklebury Road site just so the ill-judged record office project can be put there, employing a few specialist workers, is the final straw in this whole mad escapade.

Even the county council cabinet have finally got to admit that there are just too many problems with the Cocklebury Road site. They must seize the opportunity to save council taxpayers' money and to make the record office facilities accessible to all of Wiltshire.

Now there is the chance to do so in an area reportedly is already included in the Vision for Trowbridge.

The Shires House three-acre site in Bythesea Road is perhaps 60 metres or so from the railway station, with extensive car parking opposite. Opportunities for food, cafes and shopping in The Shires is less than 100 metres away.

This site would be eligible for Heritage Lottery Funding of £5 million for the project and is also large enough for a purpose-built library, alongside the new Heritage Centre/record office.

As for Swindon it, like other major urban areas in rural counties, should fund its own record office in its own town. Other towns and cities in the same situation have done so and it is time for Swindon to do the same.

AS MASON

Melksham