YOUR campaign to talk up Taunton is timely and welcome.

I have lived here for nearly 20 years, and I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

The town has everything I want, and it is surrounded by beautiful and varied countryside.

But what of the future? How will Taunton people want to spend their money in the next 10 to 20 years?

The question I ask people is ‘What kind of business would you support if somebody set it up?’

There is a national trend away from buying a lot of stuff that we don’t need and which we shall soon throw away – a trend that is welcomed by everyone who cares about our planet and our environment.

There is an important role for repair shops and second-hand and charity shops, helping to prolong the useful life of well-made goods. There is also a growing appetite for experiences; that is an area of the service economy that will grow.

It is businesses, supported by customers, that make a town.

We should listen to both – and encourage the businesses that attract customers.

The best environment for new enterprises may be small to medium-sized premises that can readily be adapted to a change of use – just the kind of premises that already exist in the town centre and in business parks.

Let us hope that, Company, the imaginative new business described in the County Gazette of January 31, will be well supported and successful.

We live in changing times, and decisions made now may seem wrong in five or 10 years' time.

Adaptability should be the watchword.

HENRY HASLAM

Taunton