MR HUNT proclaimed 'Let's put the heart back in the town,' pointing out that 'once proud Preston is seen by many as run down, shabby and unpleasant' and 'leave the bus station alone, as there are far more pressing problems needing solutions' (Citizen January 10).

Mr Hunt is right. To most Prestonians, the bus station alone and its immediate environment is one part of central Preston that has already been re-developed.

Unfortunately, the seven-and-a-half acre bus station site, so wisely dedicated to transport use by Preston Corporation in the late 1960s, is seen by developers as an easy option to carry out a profitable development.

Most of the land and buildings in the area belong to the council, so the long delays normally incurred in site assembly by a developer can be avoided if the council can be persuaded to sell the town's birthright.

The development would mean a much smaller, less adequate bus station and more shops and offices, with less than adequate parking, to create even more traffic chaos.

Retailers attracted into the proposed development will move from other parts of the town centre, leaving areas of greater need starved of investment and facing decline.

In years to come the proposed Tithebarn development will be seen as a tragedy for Preston, damaging the town centre rather than enhancing it.

Those who control Preston are not prepared to accept that they are taking foolish risks with the future of the town's centre by shaping their planning policies to fit the plans of one developer.

Mr R Johnson, Ribbleton, Preston.