THIS is an open letter to Cllr Ian Carr: We are delighted by the announcement that you have tendered your resignation in the wake of the so-called “high street incident”.

The fact that your press statement contains “clarification points” in such terms is a sad indictment on your term in office.

Before you arrived on the scene, Andover was a thriving place in which to live, work and relax, with a vibrancy that was the envy of many other boroughs. Now it no longer knows what it’s supposed to be.

However, it soon became obvious that you were severely ill-equipped to build on Andover’s strengths going forward.

It started with the appointment of a new chief executive and the disastrous forcing-through of the pedestrianisation of the High Street which was further compounded by the pedestrianisation of London Street and the Upper High Street.

This set the rot for the retail offer in Andover town centre.

You then adopted a policy of allowing out-of-town retail parks and supermarkets, which sounded the death knell.

The final nail in the coffin was your car parking charges and lamentable so-called “Andover Vision” project which was simply too little too late, with your picture in the local paper smugly handing out £500 cheques for popup shops. Also, you failed to get Andover the department store it deserves because you have no clout in the world of business.

You tried to arrest the demise of the town centre, which continues to this day, by the appointment of a town centre manager – which has achieved absolutely nothing, except another cost to the local taxpayer.

Your next mistake was to allow a restaurant to open in the Andover Guildhall, which confirmed that you know nothing of what is sacred to the people of this town.

By far your biggest petulance was your deaf ear to the 39,000-signature petition to move the cenotaph to its original location.

We have no doubt that the decisions you have taken such as changing to the leader-and-cabinet model, thus eliminating many wise councillors from the decision-making process were all taken with the best of intentions.

Sadly you let your ego get in the way most of the time.

We note your fondness for quotes so here’s one you appear to have forgotten, which is that “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.” Alas, yours was no exception and it has cost our beloved town dear.

But, your defining legacy will always be the concrete “balls” in the high street.

Well done Cllr Carr!

Paul Flippance Andover