Regrettably, Colchester is neglecting its small traders and stallholders and giving in to big store pressure.

It’s been going on for years since the Saturday High Street market was terminated – a further step in the move to destroy old Colchester and create another Basildon or Harlow.

Instead of a good, central bus station, we get a proposal for a side street service station, which will not properly serve the public.

The public no longer has a central walk-in NHS centre, but a medical service where? Right alongside the out-of-town General Hospital – from where the emergency ambulance service has to negotiate the North Station bottleneck to serve south Colchester.

The Colchester public need a good, central bus station to get a bus to the General Hospital and North Station – preferably located next to a central market and adjacent to a medical walk-in centre.

This would serve the people of all the outlying districts where the public can journey in by bus, visit their medical walk-in centre and do their shopping.

But it doesn’t seem to matter what the public want or need, does it?

Developers want to make profits and the public are only required to pay their taxes to fund this mess and accept what they are being offered without complaint.

I read the expensive Visual Arts Facility is to be not just an arts centre, but it will have a cafe and other facilities. But who will use the cafe? Colchester already has numerous good cafes and surely doesn’t need another in an expensive building where the rent will be astronomic.

If we look at other old towns, like Chester or York, compare how they have been carefully nurtured and developed to retain their history and exploit it to encourage tourism and bring in visitors and trade.

Other towns spent millions of pounds on new facilities that have failed to attract visitors, been uneconomic and finally have been shut down.

Compare how Colchester is gradually sinking lower and lower and its character and history is being lost in a murk of muddled developement, losing the character and history that are unique to Colchester and the envy of other towns and other counties.

Colchester has a castle and a Roman chariot racing arena, as well as the timber-framed building treasures in the area.

When I speak with other senior citzens, they see the same, that Colchester is indeed becoming another characterless, cloned town and is losing its unique identity, its history, independence and opportunity to flourish.

Allan Hewitt
Bluebell Way
Colchester

...I think the idea of opening a new fashion store in Lion Walk is brilliant, although maybe general manager Paul Bentham should actually listen to Colchester’s residents this time.

For as long as I can remember, people have been desperate for a Primark in Colchester. This would increase revenue and pull all the shoppers back from Ipswich and Chelmsford.

If Lion Walk wants to appease shoppers and make money, do the right thing and bring us a Primark.

Alice O'Connell
Old Heath