I HAVE looked at the proposals set out for the Charles Street development and I find that I am in agreement with those who feel West Dorset District Council’s dictatorial approach to the matter to be complete unacceptable.

With regard to the council’s own new offices, the matter is quite clear; now is not the right time to be building a new glass and steel palace within the heart of this historic town.

Furthermore, from what I have come to learn it is not even the right building and completely out of keeping with the town’s rich heritage.

I am not swayed by the council’s arguments that this will save money and let’s please remember whose money the council plays with.

As for the rest of this development, the first question one would ask is why? Why, with all the recent development in the town do we need more shops? Why do we need to attract more cars on top of a creaking road infrastructure?

And why do we need further eye wateringly ugly developments littering our once quaint and charming town? The truth is we don’t!

In case it may have escaped the council’s rather myopic vision we are in the midst of the worse economic downturn since the Second World War.

Quite who the council thinks is going to go into such a development or is going to pay for the council’s new pad is a complete mystery.

Up and down the length and breadth of this country I see classic examples of the folly that occurs when councils start sleeping with developers and it isn’t pretty.

Go and take a look at Poole for example. The damage done there is simply breathtaking and will, despite all the meaningless assurances given by the council, be repeated here in Dorchester if the council continues to ignore the wishes of those people it purports to represent.

This is why I am registering my protest, which despite being a lifelong Conservative voter will be followed by a permanent withdrawal of my support for the Tory councillors in this town.

NAME AND ADDRESS, SUPPLIED