FAR from being the "barmy proposal" described by Charles Eden in the letter opposite, we believe the idea of an M5 link road deserves serious consideration as a key element of Malvern's future prosperity - yes, we're sorry Mr Eden, that "old excuse" about creating jobs.

We're not talking about more 'minimum wage' service jobs but skilled, hi-tech, high paid jobs which offer our young people a reason to stay.

Mr Eden says businesses like QinetiQ can afford to "play a waiting game". We think they are not going to wait around for ever for the infrastructure to be improved.

What an M5 link road would do is to quite literally put Malvern on the map.

Right now, hidden beneath the hills, Malvern remains one of the this country's best kept secrets - and that's the way many people would like it to stay.

It's not a place you can get to by accident. None of the existing road links are exactly user-friendly. A road link, while it would cut through some attractive countryside, is not going to change the overall setting of Malvern.

Nothing can take away the beauty of the hills or the spa heritage reflected in the striking Victorian architecture. Malvern could never be 'anywhere town'.

But it might become 'nowhere town' unless we are prepared to share it with a wider audience.