THE spokesman for Safeway (Times, August 30) is surely engaging in the science of kidology in saying that there are more shops in Tavistock now than when the store was built nine years ago.
Retail trade in the town has suffered badly during that period.
There are now eight charity shops, four of them in the prime shopping area of Brook Street, Duke Street and Market Street.
Two shops in DukeStreet have long been vacant and a third tenant is moving to Paddons Row on September 10.
Also several shops in the town centre have changed from retail to service business.
If Safeway act on their threat to defy the borough council rejection of planning permission for an expansion of their florist outlet they will need to work hard on their kidology to show that they have not adversely affected town centre planning.
G Kirkpatrick
Parkwood Road
Tavistock