SIR: On the morning of Thursday, March 5, 1998 Bolton's Planning and Environment Committee came on a site visit to Kearsley.

It was a complete fiasco.

They met at Old Hall Street.

Morbaine's rep showed pictures of what they intended to do and how they expected the roads to work around the store etc.

The local residents then tried to ask out Councillors Spencer and Keatings questions, but got nowhere at all. The committee quickly decided they would go across in their Westhoughton-hired coach to Bent Street.

We walked across Bolton road, where a few more people from Bent Street and Lord Street waited.

Also Morbaine's rep and Richard Cowley from the committee who had travelled in their own cars waited.

The coachful of people who came across as very frightened, uncaring people with closed minds, came down Bent Street, but didn't bother stopping and wasn't seen again leaving Morbaine's rep and Barris Liptrott and Richard Cowley to deal with the people. Mr Cowley was a credit to the committee, very civil and sympathetic, but alone could not possibly resolve matters. And surely that's the job of Sharon Keatings and Pauline Spencer.

A M Prescott

Bolton Road,

Kearsley

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