LET me begin with a wild stab in the dark the Mercury's letters pages will this week be filled with negative comments from the usual protagonists, condemning the

LET me begin with a wild stab in the dark - the Mercury's letters pages will this week be filled with negative comments from the usual protagonists, condemning the decision to allow the Tropicana development to go ahead, and ridiculing the design proposals for a new Grand Pier. Am I right? Undoubtedly. And why? Because Weston seems riddled with nay-sayers and flat-earthers, people utterly resistant to change and forward-thinking ideas. All Weston needs on the seafront is a swimming pool, apparently. Wrong. If that was all that was required, the old pool wouldn't have gone broke and closed. All Weston needs is a Victorian pier, apparently. Wrong again. If such an attraction was a major pull, the town would not have been in such decline as a tourist resort in the first place. The simple facts are that Weston needs major investment, some innovation, and - whisper it, lest the blue rinse brigade turn apoplectic with rage - some new ideas. After a decade of platitude and procrastination, Weston is on a knife-edge. On the side of further inaction stands the timid, the apathetic, and the NIMBYs. But on the other side, lies a future of excitement, ambition and prosperity. I am delighted to see that at last the council has crossed over by passing the Tropicana and hope the pier is allowed to proceed in similar fashion. And then at long, long last we might finally have the flourishing town we all want, and can all be proud of. SIMON REAGAN - Hill Road, Weston