HONITON Town Council worked on the Aldi and Lidl application for Slade s/Turks Head and Heathpark Garage sites with EDDC, and town councillors unanimously passed and welcomed these applications on the basis of economic realisation. The reality now is tha

HONITON Town Council worked on the Aldi and Lidl application for Slade's/Turks Head and Heathpark Garage sites with EDDC, and town councillors unanimously passed and welcomed these applications on the basis of economic realisation.

The reality now is that the two supermarkets, out of the town centre, will have a devastating effect on the town centre businesses already struggling to survive with excessively high rents, increased business rates and gas, electricity and water increases, etc.

Free parking facilities are an added incentive to shop out of town.

In the town centre, parking is a problem and is possibly to be increased in cost.

The town centre has already suffered from all the extra facilities at Heathpark and now we are losing our garden centre, Slade's agricultural, clothing and hardware retailer. This shows a lack of foresight and another outlet gone after many years of excellent service.

Proposed cutbacks by EDDC, street cleaning, flower beds and possibly less toilet cleaning, do nothing to alleviate the fundamental problems of the district council, who have wasted our money over the years.

It would leave us with a dirty town, no flowers, smelly toilets and empty shops, so nothing to offer visitors in the holiday season.

Leadership is now needed from our Quality Council. Surely, this is the time to confront EDDC with the use of the Power of Wellbeing, which enables the local authority to do anything it considers likely to achieve the improvement of the economic environment and well-being of the town?

Time to set up an economic development business plan for Honiton.

JOANNA?BULL

Former Mayor of Honiton and

former retailer