From Carol Baxter.
As a resident of Rue de Samarès I really must take issue with remarks made by Messrs Gavin Smith and Gerald Vautier in their letters of 12 and 17 December 2009.

Mr Smith is ‘absolutely astounded that there are people who do not want a gym for the kids of this island’. Who are they? Certainly not the residents of Rue de Samarès, as he implies.

Right from the start it was said, and it was in the letter of objection, that residents had nothing against the creating of another gymnastics school but felt that any such venture, due to the amount of traffic which will be generated, must be sited with easy access to and from a main road and not in a small, very heavily populated lane.

Both men should visit Rue de Samarès prior to, in and after the potato season and they would see for themselves the huge vehicles and equipment going back and forth, sometimes blocking ‘our precious lane’ because they are unable to pass each other, and they do often leave mud on the road.

Mr Vautier thinks that Samarès Lane is child friendly. Who is he kidding? Try telling this to those who use the lane, especially with wheelchairs, small children and prams. It is very narrow in places, with blind exits from several properties. Vehicles are constantly driven along the pavements, past entrances, with no regard to whoever might be exiting. The lane infrastructure has not, and cannot be altered to cater for large volumes of traffic. Exits at both ends of the lane are also hazardous.

Mr Vautier claims that Mr Doublet’s estimate of up to an extra 2,000 vehicle movements per week in the lane is grossly exaggerated. I wonder if Messrs Smith and Vautier have even inspected the proposals submitted by Miss de Mond with her planning application.

I did, and using a little simple arithmetic I can assure everyone that Mr Doublet’s estimate is accurate, should this application be approved and the business gets up and running as proposed.

However, regardless of this figure, any increase in traffic at all in this already dangerous lane will hasten the chance of a serious road incident.

So before criticising the residents who signed the petition, these gentlemen should ascertain the correct facts.