During the last few weeks, in your newspaper, there have been several references to the proposed development of the former MOD Site (North Site), and the number of houses that may be erected there-on.

I have looked at the adopted Local Plan, (which was due to be replaced in 2001) only to find that the complete site is zoned for employment use. With Malvern being at the end of the A38 high-tech corridor from Birmingham and the overwhelming need for Employment Sites (45 hectares in the County Structure Plan) in the sustainable areas of the district, I have yet to be made aware of any alternative sustainable sites where our children, and grandchildren, may find future employment.

It will probably take a new local plan some two to three years to process through all the necessary legal public procedures before it can be adopted.

Until that time no one can rely on the future uses (for other than employment) of North Site, without, as I understand it, the Secretary of State's authorisation.

In the meantime Malvern still needs affordable homes. At the current rate of provision, it will take somewhere in the region of 10 years to fill the current backlog, even assuming that permission is granted at the Worcester Road woods site.

There are several other issues that need addressing. Malvern Cemetery is nearing the end of its life and either will need an extension into the allotment land, or provision of new land for a replacement. At the current rate of provision, Malvern is already well below the national average for allotment provision.

I also understand that there is a move to reduce the green space in Pickersleigh ward even further by the development, for housing, of the Malvern Town Football Ground. There is also a general lack of playing/amenity areas within the town that are in public ownership.

We have recently lost several employment sites, while the Townsend Way area is reaching its designed capacity and is fully committed in the present plan.

The new Local Plan for Malvern will need to make provision for the next 15 to 20 years, in the form envisaged by last year's Community Plan. I hope Malvern residents will come forward at the consultations and express their views.

David Williams, Greenfield Road,

Malvern.