AT THE end of last year, planning permission for a development in Brewery Court to contain retail, student accommodation and a cinema was granted to Wildmoor Construction. The application was passed despite recommendations by professional planning officers of CDC to the locally elected planning committee to refuse permission, against the advice of English Heritage and despite the Royal Agricultural University not requiring the 110 student beds.

It would be great to have a cinema in Cirencester again — we are all agreed — but this development is in the wrong place, would be an architectural eyesore, would not be economically viable, (mainly because of parking issues) and means the loss of independent shops to be demolished. The new retail space equates to less than that to be lost.

New plans for the Niccol Centre and a high court action necessitated plans to be re-drawn and another application has been lodged for the same development.

Despite assurances from Wildmoor that our concerns would be listened to, the present application has not changed apart from the area around the Niccol Centre and the back of WH Smith. The architecture, especially of the cinema and especially its south elevation abutting Brewery Arts has not improved, still having the same appearance — a warehouse.

In the light of proposals to build 2,500 houses at Chesterton, what use would this small four-screen cinema with limited and no free parking and no room for other leisure requirements be to Cirencester on this site? Where is the joined up thinking? I think we could all identify sites around the town that might be more feasible for a cinema/leisure complex, leaving the centre of our heritage Cotswold town free of architecture that debases it.

Are 110 students lodged in the middle of town with the attendant rowdy behaviour and their vehicles blocking resident parking spaces a good idea? We are assured they will be encouraged not to bring cars to Cirencester — who will police this in the years ahead?

Finally, is there confidence in the developer to complete any work in a timely fashion? Their project — The Kings Head — lay derelict and an eyesore in the town centre for years.

Suddenly, around the time of the last application, work started and we were promised the hotel would be open in March, but it wasn’t.

We were then promised it would be open in June. It wasn’t. It is now nearly the end of July and the hotel is still not open.

I urge all those who have professed these same concerns to view the planning application 14/01529/FUL (on line, or at the CDC office in Trinity Road) and make their comments. This can be done on line or by letter addressed to the officer in charge — Mike Napper at CDC, Trinity Rd, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. All comments must be received at the Planning Office by July 31, 2014.

CORINNE LAMUS (Mrs)

Cirencester