WE keep seeing unsupported assertions from the pro- Sainsbury’s camp that the majority of Ledbury people wanted an out-of-town supermarket.

In reality, it is impossible to be sure either way because neither of the reliable ways of finding out – an actual referendum or a properly constructed, third party survey of a statistically significant number of randomly chosen residents – has ever taken place.

The petitions against the earlier Tesco and in favour of the Sainsbury’s cited by Colin Marschall (Letters, last week) are not very good evidence, because it is impossible to control who signs petitions.

They can be signed multiple times, with false names or by children and non-residents. And these petitions were about different things anyway.

The strongest actual evidence available comes from the letters and e-mails we sent to county councillors and planning officers before the planning committee vote on February 2.

At this time, about half of the adult population of Ledbury expressed an opinion and had to go to some effort to do it.

They were two to one against Sainsbury’s.

This does not prove beyond all doubt that there is an absolute majority against but, statistically speaking, this is very likely indeed.
ANDREW WARMINGTON
Ledbury