Mr Dodds needs to appreciate that it has been people like Charles Everett that have made Orange the city that it is today and he is certainly entitled to express his opinion as to the direction he would like Orange to continue into the future.

Phocas may want Orange to be an amazing, modern, cosmopolitan, young, aspiring and interesting city, however in my opinion not at the expense of our heritage.

We must also consider what our growth potential can be as we are restricted by our water supply and  the effect we have on the downstream water users with an increasing amount of effluent.

We do not have the luxury of spewing our effluent into the ocean. We must consider these factors with every development decision that is made.

We currently have water pipes running all around the place however we are still on water restrictions.

Destroy the charm of the older sections of our city and you destroy our heritage.

An example of this was the removal of all the original veranda posts in Summer Street, sadly altered the charm of Summer Street.

I ask you to stick to turning business data into results and stop criticizing people who have built Orange to what it is today, after all it must have been good enough to attract your business here.

Why would we want to change the current personality of this successful city where we enjoy a country atmosphere and lifestyle, one that I have enjoyed for over 70 years?

One thing I am sure of is that I do not want Orange to be a huge bustling city, just steady as she goes and retaining our priceless heritage and with enough water for us into the future.

Yours sincerely,