I applaud the decision to approve the Tonge Valley Plan which shows that councillors have thought for themselves instead of being influenced by planning officers and playing '"follow my leader".

What are the town centre shops afraid of - competition? Their motivation is profit of course and they naturally wish to protect it. However, competition pushes up standards of both product and service while bringing down the price. As a consumer, I am all for that!

In spite of the above, I do not believe the shops in the town centre will suffer significantly as, no doubt, I am not alone in my intention to continue giving them my patronage.

If the nearby residents are happy, then I hope John Prescott gives the go-ahead of this scheme.

Olive M Kenyon

Laburnum Park

Bradshaw

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.