The strategy rightly notes the unique character and history of Rye. However, the propsal for the town centre is that 1,650sqm of additional convenience goods sales area is created. The summary of the strategy suggests that this will be provided through the construction of a further supermarket. Presumably this is becasue of the finding that only 10% of the Rye population do their "weekly shop" in Rye.

As I pointed out at the meeting on 16th January this floor space is ten times the size of Boots and three times the size of Budgens/Jempsons. It was crystal clear that hardly anyone in the audience (and seemingly on the platform) appreciated this fact.

It stands to reason that there is no room in Rye for two supermarkets let alone one of the size proposed. This is not reflected anywhere in the strategy. Accordingly to blandly propose such an increase in retail space in such a historically and economically sensitive location is a travesty. If a second supermarket is built with your approval what will be the effect on the Budgens' site and what will be the effect on the High Street? Has this consideration passed you by as it seems to have done judging by the planning officers' stumbling responses at the meeting?

I'm afraid that simply slipping in a mention of super area of 1,650m has not had the effect of drawing the implications of the strategy to everyone's attention. Why was this not exaplined? Why was no comparison drawn between the proposal and the size of existing shops?

Finally, I must register my very grave disappointment at the presentation made by the planning officers at the Rye meeting. Quite frankly I believe that it is wrong for an officer to turn up and simply read out the strategy in the jargon in which it is written. Surely it would have been appropriate to explain the strategy in lay terms which could have been understood by all?