BEING a resident of Trowbridge for nearly 60 years I feel that I must put pen to paper and comment on Mr Polledri's letter on this page (August 16) where he states, and I quote: "The specifications of the proposed large retail units on the Ushers site are not of high quality material and as such will fail to complement and improve the site and greater town centre."

Perhaps he and his committee should look and see the mess Trowbridge is in, ie the empty site where the old Elephant and Castle once stood, derelict and with shrubs growing out of the ground, Treman's old building smashed windows and doors chained, buildings in Court Street boarded up.

There is also the old Tesco site and Peter Blacks all empty, James Ladd's old shop in Hill Street and the building next door all boarded up. How many more sites are we going to see become derelict in our town before the Chamber of Commerce, the so-called Town Development Partnership, Trowbridge 20/20, whoever they are, the Town Council and District Council wake up and see that we are becoming the laughing stock of Wiltshire.

Foinavon's plan may not be up to his or his colleagues' estimations but they are prepared to build on the site and not leave it derelict like the bus station site all these years.

On the same page, Nigel Tuersley, Director of Capitalis, says the Ushers site is clearly inappropriate for retail development, perhaps he and Mr Polledri might like to know that Ushers had run a retail business on the site for many years, so come out from behind your rose tinted glasses and start to make Trowbridge look like a county town and not one big eyesore.

D GLIDDON,

Silver Street Lane,

Trowbridge.