May I, through the auspices of your newspaper, try to bring some perspective to the on-going debate regarding the possibility of some 'benefactor' providing Looe with a supermarket.

Should any of the good townsfolk of East and West Looe be misguided enough to think that this is being considered to benefit either the town or the inhabitants then I would ask them to consider the following remarks.

There is no such thing as a philanthropic supermarket, or building developer, and any development would take place only if it can provide them with a profit. It would not, however benefit the town.

The importance of the Millpool car park in assuring the continuance of Looe as a holiday resort cannot be over-emphasised; any decrease in the number of parking spaces would manifest itself in deterring visitors.

If one of the arguments being put forward by the pro lobby is that of cheaper prices then I would suggest to them that they do not know their own town.

I have yet to discover any supermarket - my wife and I have just spent eighteen months travelling the country - that sells vegetables cheaper than the local greengrocer or has a meat department that can compete either on price or quality with the local butchers: there may be the occasional special offer but other than that beware!

We have recently seen the loss of both East Looe butchers shops; I, and no doubt a lot of indigenous Looe residents who have known the Wiltons a lot longer than I, will miss the opportunity to haggle over the price of the Sunday joint, not that I succeeded too often!

The staff at Sargeants were also very accommodating the the 'banter' was always entertaining - try it the next time you buy meat at a supermarket and let me know what response you get from a plastic covered, fat-hidden piece of carcass!

However we are lucky in Looe, at least until a supermarket arrives, to have two other 'proper' butchers shops; the 'Tender Carver' in West Looe and the PO Stores on the Barbican. I mentioned earlier that my better half and I had spent the last 18 months or so travelling around the country: we have seen at first hand what detrimental effect an 'edge of town' supermarket can have.

Even places with a larger population than we have in Looe, and in areas of the country that are thought to be far more affluent than SE Cornwall, have seen their town centres decline and though most small 'supermarkets' don't sell ironmongery, clothing, pharmaceuticals etc., if people are not drawn to the town then these types of businesses go to the wall as well.

We are already aware of how empty shop premises affect the look of Looe, well multiply in your minds the already empty premises four or even five times and then think of how Looe would appear. Another dozen pasty shops would not cure the problem!

No, good people of Looe. Before we inflict this on our lovely town let's consider what we have and be grateful.

Do we really want to jeopardise the continued existence of local businesses and take away from ourselves the wonderful choice that they offer?

We must be aware that these good people provide all that any small supermarket can offer - don't think that we'd get a large one as there is no catchment area to the south - and if certain things are a little more expensive they would be offset by the products that are cheaper and the fact that there is no need to use a car.

We do not need a supermarket, we have in Looe all that we need and rather than decry them by calling for a supermarket we should be grateful.

If we don't support them and allow a supermarket to come, the town and its people will suffer.

It's often said that something is not missed until it is no longer there, please don't let it come to that.

I also hope that our councillors, at all levels of local government, will think long and hard before allowing planning consent for any development, will think long and hard before allowing planning consent for any development that can only be detrimental to the town. If anyone still thinks that they want a supermarket then Liskeard has at least one to spare.

RH LEWIS

Address supplied