I FELT I must respond to Antony Mathews' letter of October 10 ("Town must harness talented youngsters and commuters").

The obvious retort to his opening statement that he cannot recall something worth sticking around for in Colchester is why then are you still here ?

Our town is not defined by its decay, low budget store fronts and petty crime.

We are extremely fortunate that in the face of great trading difficulties we have a town centre that is successfully refreshing and reinventing itself.

We are living through a period of rapid change in retail patterns and the need for entertaining reasons for attracting customers.

The growing success of the comic character event in September, Invasion Colchester, is but one of a growing attractions in the town.

There will be more as Christmas approaches. The town centre is clean and the flower displays have been a joy to behold.

Organisations such as the Business Improvement District, Colchester in Bloom and the South Lanes initiative are all working with Colchester Council to create a vibrant atmosphere.

There is an ever growing number of apartments appearing in the town centre, largely above existing shops, which are changing the retail needs for ordinary food and everyday supplies bringing a different feel to the economy.

Transport infrastructure exists to bring people into the town which is very far from ideal but is surely preferable to creating more out of town shopping developments for car journeys only.

We are all becoming aware that endless traffic growth is leading to a future of ecological disasters.

There are many creative enterprises in Colchester, it is our growth area, and the council is as encouraging as possible.

We have theatres, cinemas, bars and clubs, galleries and sport facilities and excellent schools.

Of course there could be more and improved but there is a reason why so many have moved here in the last decade: it is a very good place to live.

Last week's Sunday Times included our town as one of its "turnaround towns" with thriving communities and growing populations. So who is right?

Robert Mercer

Colchester