I, JUST like “Name withheld, Leyburn” (D&S Times, Jan 15), was born in Leyburn, went to school in Leyburn and will ultimately retire in Leyburn. I have a business in Leyburn which employs Leyburn people.

Leyburn is the main market town of Wensleydale and in order for it to survive it needs development – we could argue as to how much and exactly where until the cows come home.

It is not a “chocolate box” tourist village, but a living, working market town that needs jobs and needs people to fill those jobs. In order to prosper, Leyburn has had to adapt to a new audience and the change has kept it attractive and vibrant through the worst economic downturn in living memory. We are well placed to build on this success.

We have a large business park on the edge of town which could create many more jobs if it were developed further.

I agree wholeheartedly with “Name withheld, Leyburn” regarding the parking and have argued for many years that in order to keep people shopping and spending their money in Leyburn, and not in the Aldis and Tescos of this world, we should have a disc system. Unfortunately, the market place is clogged by workers and, in some cases, business owners’ cars, car sharers and, at weekends, walkers who could use the council car park and free up spaces for people to shop more easily. A year’s pass in the council car park costs £90 which may seem a lot (25p a day) but surely it is better than losing your job or your business because people can’t stop and shop.

As for police cover, we all know it can be very hit and miss in rural areas, but I work in my office quite often late and there are not many evenings when the police do not cruise round the business park to check it out.

If “Name withheld, Leyburn” cares so much, he or she or indeed anyone else with Leyburn’s future at heart should attend the meeting on Thursday, February 11 at 7pm at Thornborough Hall to help form a Parish Plan Committee, which will look at how Leyburn evolves over the coming years.

“Name withheld, Leyburn” thinks that people coming into the town is bad, but from my experience, more often than not, it is the newcomers along with a small hardcore of locals that always put themselves forward to help with things like the library, tourist information centre, town council etc. If it weren’t for these people, the town would have lost these valuable amenities.

It would be really good to see more locals getting involved and I urge people to come to the meeting and not sit on the sidelines finding fault all the time. Get involved and help make it better.

Richard Sanderson, Leyburn