If the Tesco application goes ahead, I will be living with the consequences and not the councillors.

They would no doubt think differently if the store was within feet of their homes, but, of course, it isn't!

They were only too pleased to support the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Strategic Planning Department and the planning committee when they chose to pass plans that are 'outside of and against their own planning policy'. Don't be mistaken, the Tesco store is outside the accepted area for retail development, but apparently that is just fine, because the applicant is Tesco. Even the independent consultants that ERYC employed to assess the plans agreed that it was.

An extension could have been added to the existing Tesco store in George Street. It would have been more acceptable and, importantly, been within the ERYC planning policy, but that would have been far too simple.

Tesco have chosen to move the store away for a part retail street on the boundary of private homes and in doing so it will be as far away from the main shopping street as possible.

Of course, it will not have a main entrance on to the market place as the proposed entrance will be tucked well away from the accepted retail area.

In order to comply with ERYC strategic planning officers' instructions that they should have a pedestrian walkway to the town, a shop will be knocked down to make way for it. Quite obviously as far as this planning application is concerned, it seems that nothing is impossible, even if it does appear to be outside the local authorities' own planning policy.

We all know planning law to be very strict, but there seems to be nothing that strategic planners will not do to get this plan through.
When the smaller shops struggle and the 'for sale' signs go up, remember those who very early on flew the flag for Tesco.

I hope we do not lose any of our good family shops, but you must also remember Tesco will be building on the larger of the two cars parks, so parking spaces will be fewer.

For the councillors to say that they put forward a plea to address the loss of parking during construction, doesn't win them votes.

At last week's planning committee, Coun Fraser gave a passionate speech in support of Tesco. He could not have flown the Tesco flag any higher. He failed to realise that if things start to go wrong, he aligned himself to that policy.

He obviously thinks he is right, but it is quite insulting to absolutely ignore any other person who has a different view to that of his own.

At the December planning committee meeting, Coun Fraser told everyone that: "He had not received one objection against Tesco." Well, he should start replying to his letters and his telephone messages.
He has chosen only to listen to the people who support the Tesco plan. There are many people that don't and he has totally ignored them.
I for one have kept records of all the times I tried to contact him and communicate with him.

I have kept records of all the times he and other councillors never responded to me.

It may have been easy to ignore me, but it won't be quite so easy to ignore questions that may be asked by a higher authority.

A E Wilkinson, of St John's Gardens, Driffield.