In your January 22 edition (‘Restaurants to replace retail shops’, Times Series), John Gillett, of the Mill Hill Neighbourhood Forum, is quoted as saying: “It’s going to be a great thing for the area and I am happy to support the application.”

So it would appear that he considers the loss of three multi-purpose retail outlets that have traded for years in a dedicated business park can be compensated for by the provision of two new restaurants – one of which would be replacing a closing down restaurant anyway. Where is the logic in this?

Surely, the local economy would be better served by shops that most people regularly use and support, rather than by the relative minority who go out to eat? I would suggest the addition of, for example, a low cost supermarket, would at least have made the proposal more viable for the community as a whole.

Dr David Cowan

Sunny Gardens Road, Hendon