SIR - A recent denial of planning permission for Kidderminster Road retail park proves how petty Wychavon District Council is. Perhaps the real cause for refusal is because a parish poll overwhelmingly demanded shops there instead of Saltway, and officials hate admitting Droitwich people are right.

Planners turned down a practical scheme on the pretext that someone, someday may expand Salters Shopping Centre over its present car parks, replacing them with a multi-story on Covercroft.

There is no actual planning application for such a scheme and the car parks are on old salt workings because buildings would sink.

The council also has more commercial reasons to reject Kidderminster Road proposals. Those plans include free parking in direct competition to the district's own revenue-producing car parks.

Shoppers drawn away from the car parks are lost passing trade to an adjacent supermarket, owned by them and leased out on basis of such captive trade.

By planners rejecting a retail park to encourage preferred town centre expansion, Wychavon can make money selling our car parks to developers.

Surely under planning law this application should have gone to Secretary of State because of conflicting interests?

Mark R Heel, Droitwich