I HAVE been following the letters regarding siting of the student village and the sentiments expressed by Messers Whittle and Hornby are exactly those which struck me when I saw this proposal.

We now have a response from council leader Mr Cliff Morris attempting to reassure us that all will be well in the fullness of time, although he only addresses one of the main issues, namely the architectural design of the building.

He is correct to point out that this is at an early stage and should not be judged by the Stasi HQ that was presented in the Bolton News. Regardless of this we can have little confidence in the final outcome if projects like the replacement for the old fire station is anything to go by. That bit of neo-post-modern blandness is thoroughly depressing and reflects the sort of unimaginative approach we see in nearly all provincial towns up and down the country. It's like our high streets – architecture by franchise.

The other critical point not addressed is the siting of the edifice. The facade at the back of the crescent has not long been fully visible, and it seems like sacrilege to stick anything in front of it. The wide open vista that has appeared along Queen Street compliments the old facade very well and could be further improved with some greenery. What is wrong with siting the student village on the old bus station? The issue Mr Morris fails to point out is that by the time the final plan is put forward it will still be sited in front of the crescent blocking it out completely.

He points out that when the design is completed it will be “submitted to PSP as part of the planning process”. What confidence can we have in any of this? Did this process take any regard to the feelings of the people of Bolton in respect of the changes to the Market Hall which were clearly expressed in a petition at the time? We were told that the facade of the old fire station would be maintained in that development so what happened there? How about giving the people of Bolton something we can get excited about. How about an architectural competition to come up with some genuine choices instead of the usual take-it-or leave it approach of the Council.

J.J.Cahill

Astley Bank