Sir, – On May 22, the Herald reported that Alton Town Council had objected to the Tesco application to build a superstore next to Focus on Mill Lane on the grounds that it was in the "wrong place". Among other effects, a store in this location would, according to the council, have an unacceptable traffic impact in the area, particularly at rush hour times.

Last week you reported that Asda are about to apply for permission to build a superstore on the Coors sports ground on Anstey Road. Moreover, at an extraordinary meeting of the ATC on May 27, the council considered a request from Coors' current agent, Mr Glanfield, as a preliminary to this application, for licences to build sporting facilities on council owned land in Anstey Park as part of the requirement to re-house the Alton Town Football Club following any development of the sports ground.

The council unanimously agreed to do so "in principal", without any reference to possible impacts of such an application on the surrounding area; and quite rightly so, since the application has yet to be submitted.

However, at the same meeting, councillor Crocker vehemently objected to written comments that I had sent to the Town Clerk, in which I accused the council of having got into the current mess over the sports facilities as a direct result of having been overly influenced by the £5.25 million that many readers will remember seemed to be offered for this purpose some four years ago by Coors' then agents Atisreal.

My contention was, and still is, that by pursuing the rehousing of the football club before considering the concomitant required scale of development of the sports ground site, the council had raised expectations for the replacement facilities which would be difficult to satisfy without agreeing to unacceptable levels of residential development. And this has proved to be the case – on no less than three separate occasions!

Now move on a few months. Suddenly, or at least as it seems to me and as I wrote to the council, Asda appear like a white knight riding over the hill, possibly willing to save the council by throwing goodness knows how much money at the rehousing issue – but only if the superstore plan is approved.

But there is one big fly in the ointment. Two new superstores for little old Alton are surely not on the cards. So if Tesco's application succeeds, Asda's will be a non-starter.

Is it possible, do you think, that when asked to comment on Asda's proposal the town council will find that its superstore will not have anything like the same impact on Anstey Road as the Tesco one would have had on Mill Lane? This seems at least vaguely likely.

Tony Rice, John Eggars Square, Alton