THANK goodness there are others in Westhoughton with some sense.

Joyce Hodgkinson is quite right when she says Westhoughton Co-op has been in the unique position of having very little or no competition since it was the original CWS, with more than one outlet on Market Street, now dating back some 70-odd.

As for the small shops, the majority of people using these establishments will continue to do so.

If I wanted goods from Beazley's (1st class butchers/pork pies), Hibbert's (1st class butchers), what used to be Price's (best bakery for miles), or Bateson's (if he's not got it, he'll get it and deliver it), then no amount of supermarkets could persuade me to buy elsewhere. These small shops have longstanding family history, and the personal touch that cannot be replaced by any supermarket.

We do need another supermarket and as long as the cricket club is getting replacement facilities, I don't see what the objection is.

I would also agree that the market should be replaced with more modern shop unit. It's the most dismal place imaginable, and not surprising that traders don't want to set up their stalls in there.

Mrs M Postlewaite Rayden Crescent Daisy Hill Westhoughton