I AM writing in response to the letter in this week's Review from Amanda Watkins. I wanted to express my support for the We Want Asda in Cinderford campaign. I too have been disgusted by the tactics that the Co-op have employed, firstly with regards to the Tesco application back in the 90's, and now with Asda, in order to keep the monopoly they hold over the town.

For such a supposedly ethical, community-minded company, they don't appear to be overly bothered about the feelings of the vast majority of the community of Cinderford. Neither were they concerned about the impact on the town centre when, as Amanda says, they moved the post office, chemist, etc into their store.

The monopoly the Co-op enjoys means that we, as a town, have to endure high prices, lack of choice and poor quality products. How often have we all walked into the Co-op only to be confronted with a limited choice of fresh fruit, vegetables or meat? What is there is often close to sell by date and they are always running out of basic products. There are a number of things I use regularly that they just do not stock.

As much as I try to shop elsewhere, I work full time and sometimes it is just impossible to avoid the Co-op. They rely on the fact that I, and others like me, are forced to shop there despite our reservations, because there is simply no other option. A competitor would surely force them to raise their game. Other Co-op stores in other towns have far more choice and better prices than our Cinderford one, simply because they have to in order to compete. Why is our Cinderford store so afraid of this? Surely if they are confident in their products, service and values they should not feel threatened but instead welcome any new investment in the town.

I for one would be very interested to hear the Co-op's comments on this issue. Why are they so vehemently opposed to competition?

Well done to Amanda and all of the rest of the people involved in the campaign.

– Kate Rimell, Cinderford.