Cllr Terry Falcao, of Bitton Park Road, Teignmouth, writes:

I respond to Cllr Chris Clarance's letter in the Post last week.

I suspect that there is an election coming up, otherwise he would not have done such a humiliating and public U-turn. Whilst he enjoys the unquestioning support of some Shaldon residents (mysteriously), Cllr Clarance does not fool most others.

Cllr Clarance, along with Cllrs McMurray, Russell, Fusco and Matthews, all voted for the TDC budget in March, reported in this newspaper.

It was the budget that I protested about and urged the Teignmouth councillors to vote against.

It included a provision for 'selling Teignmouth's family silver', diverting Morrisons' capital receipts to pay off the debt that Cllr Clarance's administration had built up: using the Morrisons' money to pay for part of the Kingskerswell bypass and only two weeks ago seeking to pay for a building in Newton Abbot.

In a shockingly docile display, none of the bunch named above uttered a squeak against the frittering away of these long-awaited funds for Teignmouth.

They put party before the town. Remember Cllr Clarance is also the one who voted against the football fields being instituted at Michaels field. It was ironic that he (as chairman of Teignbridge) opened them for use by our children and acted like he deserved credit for them. He did not.

Rather disingenuously Cllr Clarance has now portrayed commitments (known as section 106 agreements) that Morrisons had to complete as part of their planning consents as positive acts of his administration. These were not acts of generosity by the Conservative administration but essential infrastructure to permit the development to be viable at all.??

Cllr Clarance, please claim credit when it is actually due. Do the honourable thing and get your administration to keep to its promises to pay for the new Carlton Theatre, to regenerate Brunswick Street and to provide and improve facilities for the community at Kingsway. These are longstanding commitments.

Please recognise that we have real fears that our town centre might die without the investment that belongs to Teignmouth. It is that important.MORE LETTERS IN OUR DIGITAL EDITION