Letter: "Oswestry is not dying"

Letter: It is ridiculous to say that "Oswestry is dying on its feet", as reported on June 29.

Oswestry is NOT dying on its feet and the coalition of Oswestry 21, the Civic Society and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England is determined to see that it doesn't by campaigning against any further supermarket development.

At present we are going through a major recession, and combined with changes in shopping habits the high street is changing. But there are still lots of independent shops trading well in Oswestry.

There are four excellent butchers. We have good fruit and veg at Covent Garden and the market, an excellent wholefood shop at Honeysuckle and many supermarkets - Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Aldi, M&S Simply Food, Iceland, Home Bargains, H&M Bargains. Nearby in St Martins there is Stan's Superstore.

Oswestry Market recently won a national competition to have a makeover carried out by Sir Terence Conran and is having a revival. It has the best fish stall for miles around, an excellent coffee stall and many other new stalls have opened. The upstairs cafe is now doing well.

Oswestry should play to its strengths. It has a great future, but not if an out of town superstore drags people away from the centre. And not if a superstore is built on the central car park.

Chas Nicholson

Oswestry