Independent, The (London): Letter: Gambling Bill will lead to crime and misery

Sir: As a resident of Felixstowe I am directly affected by the proposal to site a casino in the town (20 October).

Your photograph implies that the casino will be built on the seafront, in an area with amusement arcades and fast-food outlets. This is not so. The casino would involve conversion of a cinema right in the centre of the town, surrounded by Edwardian terraced houses and adjacent to the conservation area. An uncompromisingly modern hotel will be built. Punters "from Chelmsford, Cambridge and Norwich" may use the A14 to get here, but will then be using the nearby very busy shoppers' car park - or competing with residents for spaces in the nearby streets.

We are against the proposal, not merely because it is a casino but because all the other buildings are going to make life increasingly difficult. We are not "genteel"; rather, we are ordinary working people enjoying living in an Edwardian conservation area. This is not "an area that could do with some regeneration". We have been quietly doing our own regeneration, restoring houses, replacing original features, removing modern excrescences of the type proposed for the hotel-casino.

The authorities should be looking to support residents in their efforts to improve their town, not giving them a kick in the teeth by encouraging a modern monstrosity.

MARGARET MORRIS

Felixstowe, Suffolk