I had the joy of having to travel to Exeter from Exmouth on the bus recently. This, inadvertently, gave me the opportunity to see Exmouth in a different light, as I tend to drive in most cases.

I had the "joy" of having to travel to Exeter from Exmouth on the bus recently. This, inadvertently, gave me the opportunity to see Exmouth in a different light, as I tend to drive in most cases. I was able to have a good look at Exmouth, which you don't do when behind the wheel.

I noticed the vast amount of beautiful older houses that had been demolished and replaced by new retirement housing, the number of shops that had closed their doors and either stood empty or had been replaced by a charity shop.

Though Exmouth does have an abundance of pubs, caf�s and restaurants, and takeaways!

I also noticed the Asda home delivery vans! It may be interesting to investigate how many people use this service or travel to Newton Abbot or Taunton to shop at Asda. I know I do.

As my son has just reached his teens, I also now realise how little there is for this age group to do in the town. Yes, we will eventually have the bowling centre on the seafront, but how much will that cost and just how often does one want to bowl?

I regularly read the letters in the Journal and have thought, in the past, that the only people that comment are those that have time on their hands and little else, and therefore have a biased view to the development (or not!) of the town. I now believe that others don't comment as they, like me, don't have the answers.

I do believe that Exmouth is failing (I don't like to say dying), but do not know what the solution is.

However, I do believe that a new Tesco in the centre of town is not the answer. Nor is spending �3m on the Strand Gardens! I believe turning Asda away was a missed opportunity on many levels. Perhaps the council should be more balanced; with input from all groups including the youth of the town.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but something positive needs to be done.

Perhaps we need some entrepreneur to come and give an objective view on the town and what could be done to improve the facilities for all; young and old, rich and poor, disabled and able. A beautiful beach just isn't enough anymore.

Jacquie Spencer,

Churchill Road,

Exmouth.