Stop stalling and take action

WHAT do the city council want for Ely? I moved back to Ely four years ago after many years living in Royston, Herts – a similar sized town that was slowly dying, partly due to the reticence of the council to allow development and progress. I would be sorr

WHAT do the city council want for Ely? I moved back to Ely four years ago after many years living in Royston, Herts - a similar sized town that was slowly dying, partly due to the reticence of the council to allow development and progress.

I would be sorry to see the same thing happen here because of wrong decisions by our council.

It seems to me that this is a chicken and egg situation. The council doesn't want to allow Lidl to build a store on the site opposite Tesco because it may not fit into Ely's Master Plan. But if the go-ahead were given now, the development plan could be written with the position of the Lidl store taken into consideration.

If another supermarket chain wants to build a retail outlet in Ely now, then I think they should be welcomed. By the time the Master Plan is complete, Lidl may have sold the site, and decided not to bother waiting for the council to make up it's mind. Who's to say they would be willing to build elsewhere in Ely, when they already own a suitable site?

Ely is a pleasant place to live, but there is a danger of the size of its population outstripping the provision of shops and leisure facilities. Surely businesses and people willing to invest in the future growth of Ely should not be rejected?

If any of these developments are 'premature', as the council seems to think, then it's the businesses who are taking the risk, not the council. The council should be doing all it can to encourage development of much-needed facilities.

Sue Loewenbein

Bishop Laney Drive, Ely