Having seen the plans of the proposed redevelopment in the Charles Street area, I was taken aback by the overall scale of this development.

I strongly urge everyone to view these plans that show, far more than words, the full extent of this proposal.

My own view is that this entire development shows a complete disregard and disrespect for the unique place Dorchester holds regionally, nationally and within the world.

Visitors do not come from all parts of the globe to visit a modern over-developed town like any other. Of course Dorchester should and could develop and move forward. My concern lies in the process.

Any development within such a unique, prestigious and protected area should be led with a strong eye to interpreting the past.

It should also offer a way to provide for the future of not only current residents and their families, but our children, their children and the people who will want to live in our town for many generations to come.

They have a right to know about the place that is their home – its history and its heritage, including stories of the woodhenge under Waitrose car park, the terraced houses along Charles Street demolished in the name of progress and the valiant fight of one resident to remain in his home.

While we cannot and should not build shrines to the past, neither should anyone be able to wipe it all away. I am not local, I moved to Dorchester in 1986, by choice. If I had wanted to live, work and raise my family in a conurbation such as Basingstoke, Southampton or Bournemouth, indeed I would have done exactly that.

Of course things must change. It is naive and wrong to believe otherwise. However this is also a time when we hear of increasing resolutions being set in place at the top of our government to ensure issues like community, heritage, interpretation and respect for a sense of place receive strong consideration in any planning scheme – on both moral and statutory grounds.

Dorchester, steeped in its own unique history, has the opportunity to be an example to the rest of the country of just how these top-end resolutions can be put into best practice on the ground, particularly when contemplating a large-scale development.

I have no doubt that the current council offices are not of the same ilk as new modern city offices, but that is just it – we do not live in a modern city, we live in a rural county town.

I believe strongly that we have a duty to ensure our offices are well-equipped and upgraded to enable those who work there not only to do their jobs efficiently, but to also be able to enjoy their working environment. I have lived here long enough to know that like any town, Dorchester has its shortfalls and like all towns, certainly would benefit from a shake-up now and again, but I really, truly, don’t believe it deserves to lose its identity or its integrity.

I would urge everyone to please have a look at these plans and to make your views known, whatever they may be. Only then can we be certain that any large-scale project is a reflection of the views of our community.

Sharon Morgan, High Street, Fordington