SIR — I refer to the report in the Free Press dated Friday April 3 "Objections and strong support stall care home".

I am the highway consultant acting for the applicant/promoter of the proposed development. 

It was reported to West Somerset Council's planning committee that ". . . the applicant had within the last few days put forward improvements to address the substandard junction with Swain Street".

The improvements for the Anchor Street/Swain Street junction were actually proposed within the Transport Statement - a technical document submitted in support of the planning proposal when the planning application was first submitted to West Somerset Council in December last year. 

We knew the highway authority had concerns with the junction following the submission of the first application on this site almost 12 months ago, and therefore we met with the highway authority to discuss this issue and to seek to resolve the matter well in advance of the latest planning application being submitted. 

This course of action was in line with government guidance and best practice that encourages pre-application discussions between developers and local authorities to iron out as many issues as possible before submitting a planning application.

It is rather unfortunate that in this instance the local authorities do not appear to have studied the supporting Transport Statement document in detail when assessing the planning application. 

The proposed junction improvements were not an after-thought submitted in 'the last few days' but rather an integral part of the overall development proposal submitted with the planning application back in December 2008. 

We fully acknowledge that local government officers are under a great deal of pressure dealing with an ever increasing workload but I thought I would take the time just to put the record straight on this particular matter.

Mike Bellamy,

Principal Consultant,

Byways and Highways Ltd,

Canon Street,

Taunton.