ONCE again Kidderminster trembles in the shadow of the planners and developers' axe.

We have a "ring road" which goes through the centre of the town and finishes nowhere, and which is a traffic nightmare.

To quote from Nikolaus Pevsner "Kidderminster is a town uncommonly devoid of visual pleasure and architectural interest. The only exception is Church Street, rising to the open space in front of a splendid church.

"This being so, the authorities decided to absorb that very open space in the ring road, cutting off Church Street from the church. It is a crying-out crime against the town."

Throughout the town there have been countless numbers of dwellings sacrificed to the motor car.

Swan Street and its quaintness has likewise been buried by the anonymous concrete of the Swan Centre. The catalogue of development disasters goes on and on.

The decisions of the planners appear to take no account of the town's residents but now we have the biggest joke of all. After 20 years without a cinema (no demand, not viable) we are now offered two, with 10 screens in all. Will this be viable?

Our library disappeared in a cloud of dust. Is the Piano Building going to be a further sacrifice?

Is it to be replaced by a plastic-coated "off-the-peg" monstrosity which takes no account of the architecture or the town's history? Shed City, here we come.

With the growing need for living accommodation and Government pressure to use brownfield sites, the Piano Building is ripe for conversion to living space.

Having lived in Kidderm-inster for almost 40 years, my wife and I are saddened by the town's continuing slide into decline, hastened by planning blunders and incompetence.

The planners are the custodians of our land and assets and as such have the whip hand in negotiations when the developers cast greedy eyes on these assets.

They must learn to say "no".

DONALD RAY

Harvington Close

Kidderminster