SIR — Re the story about taxpayers having to foot the bill for the planning ‘bungle’ over Aldi (Chronicle, October 29).
Perhaps this situation would not have arisen if local residents’ strongly expressed concerns about the likely impact of increased car and lorry movements had not been ignored.
It was most unfortunate that the Highways Agency withdrew all its original objections to this planning application after being offered a considerable sum towards the cost of ‘Winchester Traffic Management’, as reported in the Hampshire Chronicle at the time.
The present planning process appears to treat residents’ concerns as almost irrelevant.
It is to the credit of local councillors on the planning committee that they rejected Aldi’s second application, a decision then overturned by an inspector who seemed indifferent to the real issues.
Mrs R Wright, Burnett Close, Weeke.
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