ANNETTE ROSSER, of Crowthers Hill, Dartmouth, writes:

I have just read with dismay the town council report regarding ‘rates and resignations’, and I would like you to publish a few additional facts.

During my 40-plus years in this town, I have seen changes that we will soon have to be rectified due to bad construction.

First, the extension to the embankment. Raw steel ­shuttering, salt water one side, fresh water the other. The council was told of the expected ‘lifetime’ of this – and that time is about now. The cheap back-filling was waste from china clay pits in Cornwall, hence what looks like silver sand on the thick river mud when the tide is low. There is currently no check, either.

In Charles Street, there were two big manhole covers, now under the road surface, and I imagine lack of access at that point contributes to the smell in town, most noticeable by Boots, the Flavel Church and the police station.

When the council had Mr Curtis as its independent ­treasurer, I know he always kept money aside for all such future maintenance and I think the council would do well to do the same now.

In the meantime, I sweep my path, hoe the weeds out of the gutter and remember when our drains were cleared, and a train ran from Kingswear to Paddington – the reason we moved here – and a bus went to Torbay Hospital and Dart­mouth families could live and work in their town.

Perhaps it is also a sign of the loss of community that we have almost certainly lost our much-needed hospital and the local Guide Association is having to spend a gift of cash on clearing its headquarters’ outdoor space.

If that is due to health and safety, there is a way round that – run a gardening safety training weekend.