THE letter in last week's Wiltshire Times regarding copy charges at the planning department of West Wiltshire District Council brought to mind a recent experience.

I, also, visited the department to view plans of a proposed development and decided to ask for copies to take away.

I, too, was astonished when the receptionist returned with my two sheets of A2 photocopy and requested £10.

I expressed amazement at the situation and made precisely the points listed by your previous correspondent.

A few weeks earlier I had ordered similar sheets but had been charged around half the price so I questioned the 100 per cent inflation rate. The reply indicated that a loss had been made in some other area and that it had been decided to raise the photocopying charges.

I wonder if architects/builders realise that their work is being used to make extortionate profits in this way.

When I needed updated versions of the same plans I managed to borrow them from an alternative source. A visit to a newsagents resulted in my own copies for a total of 40p.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED.