Cllr Chris Clarance, of Marine Parade, Shaldon, writes:

I feel I could not let the letter written by E J Haywood of Riverside, Shaldon, pass without comment, as it didn't make much sense to me.

First, we have to respect democracy whereby the village voted by a 60 per cent vote on a good turnout to reject a proposed building to be built on the west end of the KG 5 playing field, known as the Turner Centre, preferring to keep what little green space we have left as an open playing field, without having a large building put on the field.

What the proposal did throw up was especially the need for three particular groups who were in favour of the proposal.

1) A modest size changing facility for the field;

2) The need to accommodate the preschool group in an improved facility;

3) The Sea Scouts, who are homeless.

To that end, the district council have now passed the planning application, made by SPC, for a changing room /pavilion by 16 votes to one, to be built between two trees on the edge of the football field.

The pre-school facilities have been partly addressed by installing a new heating system in the Victoria Hall and the Sea Scouts, SPC hope, will be accommodated in the redundant Ferryboat Maintenance Shed, where community use can occur as well.

Mr Haywood seeks to bemoan the efforts of trying to achieve this, stating that he believes the much-needed centre, which the village didn't vote for, was going to be achieved at 'no direct cost to the public purse'.

I don't know whether he was intending to pay for it himself or how it thought the money could be conjured up, without using, in effect, the public purse.

Finally, he fails to take into account that the Victoria Hall's finances – should it lose the pre-school group as its principal customer – may well have led to its demise. I doubt he was in the village when the old village hall was closed and sold off because it couldn't sustain itself.

As Mr Haywood was the only planning objector to the scheme I believe his view is a very isolated one and perhaps he ought to tell us how and what he would like to achieve, also what he proposes and where, as that would be helpful and more constructive?