WHAT a great shame it has taken Okehampton Chamber of Trade so long to work out that the building of a very large supermarket on a car park (which used to be full in the summer) would end up with less money in their tills.

I am pretty sure that I read in the Okehampton Times, when the new supermarket scheme came up, the chamber of trade saying how good this would be for Okehampton. Now, with deplorable coach and car parking facilities, they are suffering a great reduction on their takings, and have come up with the 'greet the coach' idea. This, it was stated in last week's Okehampton Times, will need funding because 'the cost would be substantial'.

Could I point out that before the building of the new supermarket began, coaches from all over the country used to pull into Market Street car park. Their passengers would go into the cafes and around the shops, spending money in the town. The coach was not met by a 'greet the coach' person, nor did the coach operator have a letter from the chamber of trade asking the drivers to stop in the town.

Again, it was reported a while ago in the Okehampton Times that the car park did not have many tourer coaches stopping. Perhaps if the town council did not have their own parking places in Market Street they would have had to use the main car park, and seen the tourer coaches, parked side-on across the parked Okehampton School coaches. Parking was limited even then for outside coaches, but they got in and the town benefited.

It seems that the excitement of one supermarket development has blotted out the old Okehampton. It is claimed that progress has been made but I fail to see where. It now takes 10 minutes to travel from Exeter road traffic lights to the back entrance to the college through the funnel in Mill Road, and up to 15 minutes in the evening to drive from the main college entrance to Fore Street. This is due to a total lack of interest of the timing of the lights at the end of school time.

Before the chamber of trade gets too excited about their new idea, which they are hoping to start by Easter could I suggest they contact West Devon Borough Council and ask where the location of this new coach park is to be. They could then not only meet the passengers off the coaches but could pass the driver a leaflet saying where the coach park is.

When this information is available please let the coach operators who feed Okehampton College know where it is. We can then use it which will then stop the complaints about school coaches being parked all over the town.

Come on, Okehampton Council, you are intending to increase the number of houses in Okehampton. Where are the cars and coaches going to park? The town is dying. Coach park and car park or death to a town which was once lovely to live in or to visit.

Les Forsdyke

(A local resident who has been driving Okehampton school

coaches for 33 years)

The Square

North Tawton