I support your headline Nightmare on Charles Street but not for the reasons of additional cost.

Firstly, I approve the new council office building as it removes part of the eyesore of the demolition site/car park that has blighted the town for decades.

Despite the alleged ‘widespread anger’, many people I know who live in Dorchester are fully supportive of what is proving to be an attractive building that gives substance to our county town.

Secondly, there is an underlying threat to the future viability of shops in Dorchester.

Whilst two new ones have arrived, Mothercare and Starbucks have gone.

How long before Marks & Spencer departs given the company’s current national review that is seeing small stores similar to Dorchester being closed on purely economic grounds.

The potential loss of the two proposed anchor stores of the John Lewis Partnership (Waitrose) and a new Marks & Spencer, three times bigger than the existing, will be devastating and will plunge the town into retail mediocrity from which it may never recover.

Thirdly, the £2million necessary to finally clear the Charles Street site and secure the various legal and access legalities is not wasted as this will make future development simpler and will provide added income whatever happens.

Make no mistake, Dorchester is on the threshold of a ‘once in a lifetime’ town centre renaissance that is bucking the current economic trend.

The revised plans for Charles Street together with the Brewery Site will become a magnet for visitors as well as meeting the needs of a growing population that includes the internationally-recognised Poundbury development.

We should not throw this opportunity away particularly as it has taken decades to reach this point.

The two proposed anchor store companies believe in Dorchester’s future as a sub-regional shopping centre.

Why not the people of Dorch-ester, unless they are happy to have to go to Southampton, Bournemouth or Bristol for their quality shopping experience?

Let’s get behind this development now rather than wait for an economic upturn that may be years away or never.

Tim Westwood, Princes Mews, East Princes Street, Dorchester