Roy Phillips, of St Joseph's Court, Carlton Place, Teignmouth, writes:

This week's Teignmouth Post, page two, voices the justifiable complaint of many residents in Bishopsteignton about the proposed development by their district council of a number of playing fields and pavilion on the land at Michael's Field.

This proposed development has been the wish of Teignbridge's executive committee for many years.

When this proposal was first made, some years ago, a number of us at Teignbridge and on Teignmouth Town Council were totally against it. We pointed out the many obvious disadvantages to this proposal such as – for all Teignmouth users – the necessity to travel. Also, the development proposed would be in a sensitive conservation area but, above all, ducked the issue of the long delayed reinstatement of Broadmeadow playing fields.

In recent times, we have seen the issue of development of land in an area of great landscape value and in a coastal preservation area repeatedly set aside when it suits the district council to do so. A very recent example in Teignmouth is the proposed housing development above Dawlish Road, and a while ago before that the development by Drake Avenue.

For the better part of 20 years, since Broadmeadow was officially closed, local councillors were repeatedly fobbed off with excuses such as difficulties in obtaining necessary funding, local drainage problems, etc, as reasons for not doing anything about reinstating these well used public playing fields for Teignmouth residents.

Now, with far more supine and obedient councillors in this area, Teignbridge Executive Committee feels sure it can continually assert its wishes and bulldoze its proposals through, often against the wishes of most residents.

For example, they have this continued delusional belief that a quality supermarket chain is going to locate one of its stores at Broadmeadow and also pay for all the necessary remedial works. It should be fairly obvious to Bishopsteignton residents, as it has been for some time to most Teignmouth residents, that the executive committee does not truly listen nor act on their behalf.

There is a long list of unwanted projects, foisted on residents in recent years, such as the two Co-op stores in our town (thus denying residents choice); the refusal to extend the parking space in Brunswick Street; the provision of additional car parking that Teignbridge maintains is not necessary – still basing their opinion on a biased traffic survey undertaken in Teignmouth many years ago. Similarly and most recently are their biased statements on the vision for Teignmouth, containing the latest proposals for our town. Their big 'yes' in support of this proposed vision is based on a response from fewer than 500 people attending an exhibition, out of a population of some 15,000.

Ever since the introduction of the executive committee system at Teignbridge that makes all the decisions, the opinions of local representatives have largely been passed over and residents' views ignored.

It is to be hoped that, for once, those who vote will ignore political affiliations and bias and vote instead for the individual who will best represent their town or area, and respect and voice the views and opinions of the residents they represent.THIS AND OTHER LETTERS IN OUR ONLINE EDITION