OUR correspondents are right, of course, it is ridiculous for a place the size of Malvern, and one with its musical history - not to mention a pretty healthy present - to be without a proper music venue.

But while the campaign to re-open the Great Malvern Club is understandable, it is really aiming at the wrong target.

There is nothing Malvern Hills District Council can do to give the club the extended lease it needs, that decision rests with its landlord, the Post Office.

All MHDC has done is to identify the site, and more particularly the sorting office, as one with the potential to be of more benefit to the regeneration of Great Malvern than it is at present.

MHDC does not have the funds or the intention of buying the site itself, it would like to see the Post Office selling to a suitable developer. The Post Office clearly sees the site as a valuable asset and doesn't want a sitting tenant. It's hard to see a way forward.

The trouble with this approach is that most developers are interested only in a quick return and are going to want use the building, at least in part, for flats.

While this might work in a city centre, it is hard to see how a residential use could be compatible with the central music venue that Malvern needs, one that is more attractive than the current Great Malvern Club.

MHDC is right to see this site as one with enormous potential but it is an opportunity which could be wasted by the wrong kind of development.

In the meantime, it is possible this will go on for years and the town will have lost the club during that time when there was no need to have done so.