COMMUNITY leaders' opinion was that the suggested new supermarket in Ryeford looked awful.
On top of serious concern about the damage the out-of-town store might do to Stonehouse High Street, councillors at the exhibition of the proposals didn't particularly like the look of the suggested building.
Well that's nothing new. How many of our supermarkets look attractive? They all seem to be clad in swathes of glass and steel.
It's true that developers the Property Alliance Group have said their site isn't actually green fields, its brownfield land which has been previously used.
They've also put forward the usual lure of new jobs, almost 300 of them, at the supermarket if it gets off the drawing board.
But bear in mind, too, that the majority of supermarket jobs are usually part-time, so the equivalent in full-time employment might actually be more relevant.
All in all, it seems then that the Ryeford store, maybe destined for the likes of Asda or Morrisons, went down like a lead balloon with local people.
Not that the views of local residents, Stonehouse Town Council or even our district council, hold much sway.
With this bossy, we-know-best government all semblance of planning control seems to be vanishing from local hands.
Perhaps, then, the only thing which will save us from more shops and houses is to change the government. But then, would a different one help?