I AM writing as the new president of the Cirencester Chamber of Commerce to clear up any confusion regarding the position that the Cirencester chamber of Commerce is taking upon proposals to build more houses at Chesterton or Kemble Airfield.

The chamber of Commerce speaks for business and is a strong supporter and defender of all businesses in Cirencester and the surrounding area. We are very much against any actual or proposed loss of employment land. The proposals at Kemble Airfield do appear to threaten existing businesses based at the airfield and we therefore are opposed to this aspect of the proposal to build at Kemble Airfield.

The chamber of Commerce is very much in favour of the further expansion of the population of Cirencester, but not at the cost of losing employment land anywhere in our area. The proposals at Chesterton do have allocations for more employment land as an extension of the Love Lane Industrial Estate and an extension of the business park by the Tetbury Stroud Road roundabout (former football club site).

We urge Cotswold District Council planners to make sure that in their deliberations about where to site more housing they put in place robust restrictions to ensure that employment land and the supporting infrastructure is put in place (neighbourhood centre, schools, doctors surgeries, roads and car parking) commensurate with the scale and timing of the construction of more housing wherever it might be, Chesterton or Kemble Airfield. The record of the district council is not good in this regard: very little if any that was promised for the Kingshill development five years ago has been delivered.

SIMON LARGE

President of Cirencester Chamber of Commerce