DIGLIS Basin is one of Worcester's most significant developments for years and being negative about it simply won't do.

But fairminded people, glancing over the outline plan, are bound to have their share of guarded suspicions.

First, the number of proposed dwellings to be crowded in stands at 550, more than 46 per cent above the number designated in the local plan.

That means going for a scheme dominated by slab like blocks - some an unspecified four to five storeys and some unspecified five storeys and above.

The outline planning brief, though quite detailed for a document of this type, contains no cross- sectional view of how these blocks will appear on the Worcester skyline, either from the Bath Road or over the Severn from St John's.

There are also no details about building design/quality of materials or landscaping.

The big question remains. Is this about a project that achieves the most economic returns for Bryants and British Waterways, or about a scheme to realise the deep attractiveness of Worcester's canal basin?

JEFF CARPENTER, Worcester.