I HAVE for the last few months been keeping a close eye on the articles within your paper relating to the Coate Water planning application.

Firstly, I would like to say that I am unsure that Swindon Council will ever be granted city status without a university, and having dealt with universities over the last few years they appear to wish to build within a campus situation. I do not know whether Coate Water is the correct venue that is for others to decide.

What intrigues me and to the credit of Swindon Gateway Partnership they have kept, for want of another phrase “their powder dry”, while Swindon Council have been jumping up and down making all kinds of accusations, one being making an application through the “back door”.

My personal thoughts on this situation are that Swindon Gateway Partnership made a correct and professional submission for planning permission on the site. It is my considered opinion that the Gateway partnership have been messed around by Swindon Planning department to the extent that because they believed in the application they had no alternative but to go direct to Planning Inspectorate for a decision.

Swindon Gateway Partnership is a professional business and relies on relatively quick decisions, taking into account the procedures an applicant would have to go through. Therefore they are in a competitive situation. In other words they rely on their business management to obtain income for their company, they cannot therefore rely on individuals to compulsory fund their company, unlike a situation which exists with council tax.

I do not know whether they will receive approval or not, and whether it is correct for the area. This will now be decided independently, but what I would say is the Gateway partnership should be congratulated not condemned for by-passing bureaucracy. It is indeed unfortunate that planning authorities have no competition, because it is my firm belief that if competition existed which could be controlled/monitored situations like this, and with regard to smaller developments would be avoided. There is nothing like competition to keep people on their toes.

T A T GRIFFIN

Goddard Avenue

Swindon