THE colour picture of the pool and chutes in last week s Mercury looked very nice. But let s not kid ourselves, the new development Lifestation@Tropicana is not about providing facilities anything like people enjoyed before; it s

THE colour picture of the pool and chutes in last week's Mercury looked very nice.

But let's not kid ourselves, the new development Lifestation@Tropicana is not about providing facilities anything like people enjoyed before; it's about making money for the developer.

If planning permission was sought for a cinema on this site it would be rejected out of hand.

Similarly if planning permissions were sought for a bowling alley or for 30 or more shops and restaurants they too would be turned down.

So by putting in 'a little pool' (and it is little) and a few coloured chutes Henry Boot hopes to persuade us this monstrosity on the beach is right for the town. It's not!

Claims made in the Tropicana News issued recently by Henry Boot say they have consulted 500 local people and they try to make us believe the majority were in favour of the development.

They also say 1,000 people have registered their support on the Facebook site. So just how does Henry Boot explain away the 25,000 or more people who have formally and freely registered their objections to the plans?

Of course, people would like a new state-of-the-art cinema and a new bowling alley but not on this site.

What people want to see on the Tropicana site is a covered pool (capable of holding a lot of residents and holidaymakers) together with a couple of shops, cafes and a restaurant.

Will North Somerset Council dare to give the go-ahead knowing full well a significant majority of ratepayers object to the Boot proposals?

Can Henry Boot tell us how many people will be able to fit into and enjoy their proposed new pool and chutes at any one time? My guess is no more than a few dozen.

PETER WHITMARSH - Pendlesham Gardens, Weston