Hotels are closed and derelict

I VISITED Weston last week for a few days break and was shocked to see how run down and shabby everything is looking.

I used to come to Weston on a regular basis and it always seemed a nice busy town. I could not believe all of the empty shops around the town.

The Tropicana is still derelict as it was six years ago when I last came, Birnbeck Pier is still derelict and loads of hotels are closed and derelict.

I used to stay around the Birnbeck Area but on this trip it felt as if it had been forgotten. I walked around and counted the derelict hotels all suffering from vandalism, squatters and decay. There are loads of shabby looking buildings and nothing to attract visitors.

In just this small area I counted four closed hotels The Bay Side, the Dorville, The Lyndon Huse and the Royal Pier, a local resident told me that the Madeira Cove will be closing soon and will also be boarded up. This is right on the seafront.

I am surprised that the local residents are not up in arms about the neglect of this once beautiful area and am surprised that the council seems to be continuing to let buildings just close and be boarded up.

As the local newspaper I think it would be a good idea for you to photograph all of the empty buildings and print them in the newspaper and start a campaign to make the local council do something to reverse this terrible trend. If the buildings cannot be renovated then they should be knocked down and new buildingsbuilt.

It all seems such a terrible waste to see all of these buildings empty, particularly when there is so much homelessness.

MRS J BAKER

Dryden Street, Swindon