I AM rather bemused at the degree of surprise shown by many of your correspondents with regard to the obscene haste displayed by the newly elected South Shropshire District Council in its quest for a trendy Eco Park, and a needless park-and-ride facility, on land outside the line of the by-pass, the planned and natural boundary to the east of the town.

The overbearing attitude of those elected to carry out the wishes of the electorate, is now, at local level, copied from Westminster.

The political posturing of local councillors has been the cause of many of the problems throughout England in small historic market towns, including Ludlow. One-upmanship, self-agrandisement, and a "we know best" attitude has replaced the old style of representation when a councillor's "accountability" was to the electorate, not to the leader of the most vociferous cabal.

The inherent beauty of Ludlow has recently been degraded by the forced acceptance, at its very heart, of such unsuitable structures as "The Library", and earlier the Tesco store, which did not have to conform to the "sympathetic" building style which Somerfield was forced to adopt.

The wrong buildings in the wrong places, yet still the council appears to have listened little and learned nothing.

It is a certain fact that tourists, flocking to this lovely old town during "The Festival", will not be attracted by such architectural oddities. A fact also that both of those facilities could easily have been designed more in keeping with the historic fabric of the town, or at least located in less sensitive positions.

The District Council pays lip service to the popularity which Ludlow enjoys due to its unique charm as a hitherto unspoiled example of a medieval small market town, while stealthily planning the slaughter of this "golden goose" simply to satisfy a small noisy gang of baying "modernisers".

Enough is enough, let the town rest within its by-pass boundary. It does not need an "Eco Park" or acres of "Park and Ride" tarmac, empty for most of the year. What it does need is a District Council which is prepared to listed for once to us, the people who are faced with extortionate council tax bills and see the money squandered on hare-brained, costly and unsuitable gimmicks.

John Hughes,

Worcester Road,

Burford.