FURTHER to Alison Stephenson's article (Times, October 17) — has anyone from West Devon Borough Council actually had a walk through the town recently? I think they should take a walk through Maldon, Essex, where I visited my cousin recently. Now that is a high street to protect! Maldon also has a Morrisons and a Tesco — funny that!

Well this is how I see our town these days:

We can get our hair done in a multitude of places, be it a ladies' hairdresser or a gents' barber shop. I gave up after counting 20 sites. Why so many? Last I heard Tesco wasn't into hair salons of any description?

We can eat a pasty in a number of locations or have a coffee, food or alcoholic beverage in many locations.

Will the dedicated pasty fan swap a Tesco pasty for the real deal? I doubt that very much. It could be a Tesco without an eatery – easily done in their application. The Focus site isn't large enough to have the complete hypermarket Tesco scenario in any event!

Fancy some new 'duds, well we could trawl through the second hand clothes, at one of the multitude of charity shops that have taken over the high street. These do a great job, I often take things into them and am happy to do so as I hate throwing out anything that could still be gainfully used, but we do seem to have rather a lot of them now. Tesco does not threaten these shops on any front.

Our lovely pannier market will continue to draw in folk, now that is unique. That is what sells it to the public and that won't change.

We have a few clothing stores, seemingly either at the lower or higher end of the market ladder. So there could be a minor conflict there, some might say, but I don't see that at all. Those that do shop in these establishments, for fashion clothing, will continue to do so. Those that choose Tesco clothing will still travel the 20 to 25-minute drive or buy online.

The Co-op and Spar stores will continue to be supported by those who already shop there. They offer a different service in the shopping tables.

The empty site of Focus is an eyesore and what about the rates we are missing out on, and have for the past few years? And when all is said and done, competition is good for the general shopping public.

We need another store, and as Sainsburys and Waitrose have been seen off by this seemingly intractable council, let it be Tesco! I for one am tired of the drive to either Roborough or Launceston, and I know many others who do shop out of Tavy nowadays.

As to losing four jobs for every job created, well in my world statistics can be produced to prove almost anything, and I really can't see this as a statistic worth mentioning. I am sure one could find stats that would prove the opposite, should one look hard enough.

Denise Curtis

Meadow Brook

Tavistock