IF Councillor Rob Peachey wishes to make a party political issue of the "Tories long history of destroying our city"(You Say, Friday, December 10) let him furnish the names of those of his party who voiced opposition to their proposals.

I warrant he will find precious few.

The story of Worcester's demise goes back long before the Second World War when it was popularly known as "slum clearance." Worcester had long had a surfeit of ancient buildings, many of which had fallen into disrepair and disrepute.

People were wholeheartedly in favour of clearing large areas to be replaced by modern development. It would have been a very brave councillor who dared oppose the popular trend. Of those who did there was, perhaps the odd traditionalist like my father's cousin, the late Alderman W R Amphlett (Independent Conservative) but no one wanted to listen to the likes of them.

Six years of wartime disrepair took its toll and Worcester turned its envious eyes on places like Coventry, Plymouth and Birmingham which had been bombed and rebuilt in modern style. There followed the infamous "rape of Worcester" as it became known.

The process advanced like an unstoppable steamroller. Other historical cities, notably York, had perceived merit in restoring and rebuilding.

When it was seen what they had achieved, the people of Worcester began at last to realise what they had lost.

Our lovely old Lich Gate, Lich Street, half of Sidbury, Birdport, Blackfriars , our distinctive Guestern Hall, Market Hall, Public Hall,, the Shambles.

It was not until the mid 1970s that politicians of any party began to realise that Worcester could have become a place of inherent beauty instead of squandering its heritage away.

It was far too late for local councillors to try jumping on that bandwagon.

JOHN HINTON, Worcester.