NO HOME owner should be placed in the position of writing to a paper because he does not know whether his home and neighbourhood is to be demolished (Chris Ambler, Letters last week).

Lancaster City Council has a new community strategy which stresses the importance of working with local people to make the district a good place to live in. So why are local people treated like this?

Remember past 'regeneration schemes' such as Poulton market and the siege of Parliament Street? A council should never allow situations where it lines up against local people with developers - and the bias against Morecambe has never been more obvious.

Just look at the state of The Midland Hotel, which was tied to the redevelopment of the West End by way of 'preferred developer' Urban Splash?

Lisa Ashurst, of Urban Splash, told a meeting of Poulton Heritage Group: "We are happy with the level of security at the moment... the end of the month will see a building application to restore the building... by September 2004 it will be a construction site."

So are Urban Splash hoping someone will burn the Midland down before they bring the demolition crew in? What have they done to look after the building in their care?

Fortunately, Morecambe does not have the large-scale housing problems of large industrial towns where demolition is the norm. To make it attractive, Morecambe requires the upgrading (conversion) of part of the seafront area, that's all - a small price after decades when social change was mismanaged.

Why does Morecambe lose out every time? Remember the Grosvenor? What fine modern penthouse flats that would have made. Is Poulton College another disappearing act?

Are local people confident that the the MP, council leader Ian Barker and his coalition at Lancaster City Council will work in partnership with local people to restore a much-loved Art Deco treasure and the Best End of Morecambe ?

Mr Ambler isn't.

Patricia England, Heysham