RE: Trafford planing meeting to consider Warrener Street car park, Sale Moor.

BEFORE I give my comments about the above meeting, I would like to thank Elite Travel, of Sale Moor, for providing a coach to transport all who were interested in attending the meeting, free of charge.

I would also like to thank the 50 people who turned up to show their support against the supermarket development.

A thank you also to our councillors, Joanne Bennett and Mike Freeman, who spoke most eloquently for their allotted three minutes.

When we arrived we were told in no uncertain terms by security guards that no placards were to be taken in the meeting room. They made sure we left them all at the entrance to the town hall.

Before the meeting commenced we were warned by Cllr Vivienne Ward that if we made any noise we would be removed by the two security guards who were stationed at the doorway throughout the meeting.

My feeling was that most of the councillors were not aware of all the facts, particularly with regard to the extra traffic and the close proximity to two junior schools.

Cllr Bunting made a comparison between the Sainsbury's in Timperley village and Tesco in Ashton on Mersey, conveniently forgetting to mention that these stores are a lot smaller than the one proposed for the Warrener Street site.

They form part of the main precinct, which the proposed development does not, and is away from the main precinct in Sale Moor.

The councillor also failed to mention that we have a Tesco in the village trading under the name of One Stop.

At no point in the proceedings were we allowed to ask questions of the councillors, who spoke either for or against the development.

If this is the way that all planning meetings are conducted in Trafford, then God help us.

Obviously, our opinions as residents of Sale Moor were certainly not taken into account at all, bearing in mind the council received more than 500 objections to the development.

We all felt very let down at the end of the evening. It seemed as if our concerns were not taken seriously and it was going to go ahead despite the objections of the local residents who will have to live with the problems it will cause.

S Shelton
Pick & Pay