Sir, I’m a simple bloke, you ask those that patronise The Boar’s Head, so maybe I’m missing a trick, but to my way of thinking, as a taxpayer, I must’ve contributed to Wantage Police Station and Magistrates Court.

Therefore, my expectation is that it won’t be sold off to private developers, but will be redeployed as another worthy public amenity for the good of the town. No, don’t laugh!

So, equipped with this simple philosophy, I cut along to the public exhibition on the proposed redevelopment of the police station and courts as retirement flats.

Sadly, it reminded me of all the public exhibitions on developments I’ve been to, ie charming representatives who can only deal with the “small picture”.

Unsurprisingly, I learnt I wasn’t the first to suggest that, in isolation, their proposals largely seemed OK, but looking at the “bigger picture” the site might be better redeveloped as another public amenity and thus provide some infrastructure to support all the new houses that are coming our way.

But, of course, there was no one present to answer questions about screwing up our lovely market town.

Regardless, I was staggered to learn i) they “expect the surrounding streets to absorb the car parking”, and ii) market research stretched no further than “it’s a market town with a Waitrose and therefore it should work”.

Two minutes on the web revealed to me there are currently at least 22 vacant retirement apartments in the town, many of them vacant for over a year, and that the Pegasus site in Mill Street up until very recently was still advertising new apartments (built in 2008 ?).

Simple I might be, naive I ain’t, so I’m not hopeful that someone who counts will look at the “big picture”.

Mark Rowe

Highclere Gardens

Wantage