So we are to have 250 new homes on the outskirts of Watchet. Doubtless when this project was first mooted, the paper mill was still in full flow but times have changed.

Apart from all the other arguments, it seems to me that it is the paper mill site that is now ripe for redevelopment for several reasons. All the utilities are already there, ie electricity, water and sewerage. There is more than enough space there for another school, which will undoubtedly be required for the potentially large number of extra children 250 homes will bring. 

Of course, much expense will be incurred with the demolition of the mill and restoring the contaminated ground but developers, who only have an eye to the bottom line, must accept the rough with the smooth.

The 250 dwellings could bring as many as 1,000 souls, or even more, to the town, not to mention the additional traffic on unsuitable roads. The surgeries and schools in Watchet and Williton are already stretched. 

Who is to live in these houses? Where are they to find work? We are told there will be a statutory consultation period of 13 weeks. Of course there will, but one cannot escape the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that this is all a fait accompli, as is usually the case and the scheme is already a done deal.

As Sergeant Wilson might have said to Captain Mainwaring, “Do you rally think this is wise?”.

Allan Stanistreet,

Normandy Avenue, Watchet.