In addition, both the town council and civic association have been involved in regular liaison meetings with the contractors, Sainsbury's, and our district and county councils. It is a matter of fact that information given at these meetings was intended for the public, but true to form, it has been mainly used to promote "sound bites" for political purposes.

The proposals for the bridge were so clearly shown in a planning application in 2002 that both the town council and civic association submitted comments to the planners.

In January/February this year, the town council had no comment to make when consulted on an application to a re-design of support columns for pergolas to be constructed in colour-coated steel.

Indeed, more recently I was present at a council meeting on July 2 2007, when, with all elected councillors present, Cllr Martin Burfoot objected to the size of an illuminated sign on the pergola by the station. They now claim they didn't know of its existence.

My recollection of our town council involvement in the early stages was a crusade to retain the columns and tree in front of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The planners proposed that the columns were moved to provide a feature on the access to the station.

We would then have been spared the ridiculous bend in the A6, which will become apparent when the new road is opened. Perhaps if the planners had also proposed to plant the wrong type of trees on the footbridge and pergola, Matlock Town Council would been only to ready to take notice and to criticise.

From the outset our town council together with the unelected, and perhaps unrepresentative, civic association have had tunnel vision on the pedestrianisation of Matlock Bridge and landscaping. They have been given every opportunity to comment at every stage of the proceedings only to deny any knowledge if any proposal later proved unpopular with residents.

I am not a political animal but I do wish more residents would attend town council meetings that at times resemble little more than a cosy club! Unless more people get involved our councillors (of all political shades) will carry on with their current antics. They are guaranteed to respond if the room if filled with angry residents but quite often the same councillors are the cause of the problem.

As a final thought, the whole development area has been dissected and perhaps ruined to provide a railway link into Matlock station for Peak Rail. Where are people going to park to board Peak Rail at the station and what are the odds that the Riverside Station will continue to be the main boarding point?

Without a Peak Rail link would there be any need for a footbridge at the station – any need to trudge round the back of the station to walk from Matlock to Sainsbury's – couldn't it double the amount of car parking spaces by providing a direct link between the public car park and Sainsbury's car park?

Now there's something that perhaps could be done even at this late stage and then, without a railway line, the road bridge into Sainsbury's could provide Matlock with another unused Riber-like folly?

John Winnard
Lums Hill Rise
Matlock