ENTIRE novels have practically been written on how potentially devastating an out of town superstore could be to Ledbury’s town centre businesses, and conversely, on how the town also needs a new superstore in order to keep up with the changing economic climate and to prevent people from travelling elsewhere for more choice of cheaper goods.

May I bring to the forefront a glaring issue which from all that I have read on the subject, appears to have been given nowhere near the attention it deserves – the fact that our town is screaming out for more employment opportunities for young people.

When I was in my late teens, I was fortunate that jobs in Ledbury were reasonably easy to come across – even if it was just some handy part time work to enable students to start earning money in and around their studies.

The situation is very different now however. Ledbury’s population is larger, and the town only really has Amcor and UBL left in terms of big employers. How long can that indefinitely continue for with the way that industry is going?

Where will Ledbury’s post-GCSE students and those who want to get straight into the world of work from school go for employment if they cannot drive or can’t afford to pay for bus or train travel on a daily basis?

It really baffles me as to why certain individuals are so intent on pushing away such a potential goldmine of employment and investment in our town when unemployment (particularly amongst 16-24 year olds) is at an all-time high.

Perhaps those who oppose the move need to take the time to consider how the lack of new employers setting up in Ledbury will have a truly detrimental effect on the town’s younger generation.

At present, the town has a varied and lively demographic.

Give it another 20 years of no further investment in employment opportunities, however, and we are in real danger of turning into a dead and stale settlement which people use only to retire to or merely as a base for commuting. I don’t want this to happen to a town which I have lived in and loved for over 25 years.

Regardless of people’s views on the impact a new superstore would have on local businesses, the fact remains that Ledbury’s young people are its future.

Please give them a chance.

CHRIS PONTER JNR
Ledbury