Tony Fyson, chairman of Dartmouth and Kingswear Society, writes:

The continuing argument about the use of the flat above the museum illustrates a common difficulty in resolving planning problems. There is not always a clearly 'right' answer and neither are the financial implications of a decision as clear-cut as they are sometimes portrayed. So Cllr Gent is not wrong to prioritise low-cost housing provision and Cdr Lingard is not wrong to want to develop the museu.

Regardless of who promised what to whom, the issue needs to be judged on its merits. The Dartmouth and Kingswear Society committee attempted such a judgment at its recent policy meeting.

Balancing the urgent need for affordable accommodation with the advantages that good presentation of our heritage has for the prosperity and educational benefit of the town, it concluded that in this instance the museum might reasonably be given preference.

The benefit of well presented heritage serves the town's prosperity in all sorts of ways, and the limited convenience of the restored living accommodation and the unique opportunity to improve the museum tipped the balance. Mayor Paul Allen was quite right to try to discourage opinion from becoming too polarised in the council meeting . As in so many matters, occupation of entrenched positions only makes it more difficult for people to adjust as new information and even second thoughts become available.

 The society urges that our much improved museum should be supported and should not have to move away from its location in order to expand its services. In the society's view it would be entirely right for Henley Trust funds controlled by the town council to be used to pay rent on the extra museum space. The Henley collection which formed the town's first museum is the responsibility of the present museum and would benefit from the improved display and interpretation that expanded accommodation would make possible.

At the same time the D&K would encourage the town council to seek out and vigorously pursue other opportunities to take advantage of the SHC direct lets scheme and to press the council to maximise the affordable element of housing in the proposed West Dartmouth development.