Sir, – Stockton High Street has been struggling for a long while now. The High Street has hardly any retail offer and is in desperate need of private investment.

I believe if Stockton High Street is going to be successful again we need a retail offer with better shops that will attract people back and also that Stockton as a whole needs private investment and job creation.

I sit on the planning committee and a few weeks ago we had an excellent application to turn the Springs gym site at Teesside Park into a Travelodge with a Harvester pub and a Nandos restaurant. This scheme would have given Stockton much needed job creation and private investment in these difficult economic times.

I voted for this application as I think it is badly needed.

Everyone on Stockton council should get real about this issue and be grabbing every piece of investment into our area with both hands.

One of the main reasons for the refusal of the application was that it would damage the High Street. I think this policy and the thinking behind it is just plain wrong and needs reviewing.

You can’t just say we can only have investment in the High Street and that’s it. In my view we need a policy that supports investment and a better retail offer in both the High Street and Stockton more generally if we are going to make Stockton as successfully as Teesside Park and Thornaby town centre.

Coun PHILLIP BROUGHTON Grangefield Ward, Stockton Council.