MADAM – With the news that the Asda supermarket plan on the Daniel’s Industrial Estate in Bath Road has taken a step closer, now is surely the time to consider the dangerous and alarming side effects this development will cause.

The A46, Dudbridge Road and Walkley Hill will become virtual no-go areas for many motorists as they seek to avoid the inevitable gridlock.

As everyone knows (except, it seems, council officers at Ebley Mill) these roads are already clogged up at various times of day and a scheme which proposes thousands more vehicles using them daily is bound to lead to severe problems.

So where will all the drivers keen to skirt around this shambles go?

Well, on one side of the valley the villages of Selsley, Woodchester, Middleyard and the Stanleys will become nothing more than motorists’ rat runs.

The same will happen on the other side with Amberley, Burleigh, Minchinhampton, Rodborough, Thrupp and Butterrow Hill all becoming adversely affected as hundreds of cars, vans and lorries bid to escape the jams.

Even more far-reaching and worrying is how the emergency services – ambulance, fire and police – will cope with the extra traffic and certain long delays as they are already occasionally held up using the A46 and Dudbridge Road as things stand.

Has any of this been taken into account by the people responsible for the recommendation of this seriously flawed scheme?

For those living in the villages that will be hazardously affected, now is surely the time to ask your local councillor where he or she stands as far as the proposed development is concerned and let them know your thoughts.

Andrew King

Stroud