I WOULD like to endorse the comments of Stuart Whittle, Letters, February 18, I too read with dismay the proposed building of student accommodation in Cheadle Square.

The student halls could be built on the soon to be vacated site of the current bus station and on the overgrown empty space left by the Odeon demolition if they must be in the town centre.

The town definitely needs to be enhanced so the plans must certainly be redrawn as the current image is so ugly. To block the beautiful arch entrance would be sacrilege, gardens should be in front of a divided accommodation block if the plans go ahead, leading to Moor Lane. Let’s make our once attractive town something to be proud of again.

Yet another unbelievable act of council vandalism — chopping down our established trees on Newport Street is not creating a Boulevard. I thought the definition of a Boulevard was a tree lined avenue. The plans that Tassos from The Olympus Restaurant submitted to the council a few years ago were super.

Picture Las Ramblas in Barcelona, a lovely Boulevard and many others both here and abroad. Open air cafes and seating beneath trees and smart shops, not the proposal of pastel painted ones putting me in mind of “Tobermory”.

A theatre large enough to be able to put on big shows and accommodate a large audience would help to stop the exodus of people going to Manchester to visit a nice restaurant and take in a show. Something our town is now sadly lacking in but was once proud of having and not just one, we used to have four large theatres not including the smaller amateur venues. We cannot even go to the Albert hall as this is closed for restoration. I cannot see the need to spend money on a theatre which didn’t need it. The shows that we all enjoyed seeing there are now having to find alternative venues, miles away.

Hopefully, the new restoration of the Market Place will prove to be beneficial. The idea is a good one, let’s hope it helps to restore the evening footfall into the town centre, since Bradshawgate, despite having restaurants, is no longer a welcoming area.

Please can the planning department think before they act and ask the town residents for their opinions before any more acts of mindless vandalism occurs.

Rosalind Horrocks,

Shelbourne Ave

Smithills