Grasmere was given by Lady Clare Mann to the Trustees of the South Norfolk Conservative Association for the purposes of the association, ie on trust for its members, not for speculation on the property market 'in order to obtain the maximum available price'.

I believe such redevelopment would be a great loss to the association, its members, the club and the town of Diss.

I have been a member of the association for more than 40 years and of the Grasmere Club since its inception. The club is holding a general meeting to discuss the matter and I think the association should do the same.

Robert Manning, Waveney Road, Diss

Hypocracy defines life today. I am disgusted and horrified by the way proposals to build flats on the Grasmere site have been conducted.

Once again Diss architecture and history have been ignored.

Conservatives obviously want to conserve money not surroundings. The view across the Mere from the club is one of the main attractions of Diss.

Elizabeth Mooney, Diss


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Nothing free about Tory parking plan

Diss' two Conservative councillors (All day parking was a stunt, Diss Express letters, May 30) have done an admirable job in trying to defend the indefensible: blaming the Liberal Democrats for their own party's incompetence.

What Messrs Walden and Palmer fail to acknowledge is that the Conservatives have not introduced free parking in Diss.

The first hour only will be free and all of the other charges will shoot up to pay for it.

Trevor Wenman, Chairman, Diss and Roydon Liberal Democrats, Diss

I challenge Mr Wilson to deduce from my letter of May 16, my age, status, state of health or even which end of Frenze Road I live in (Walk and you won't need to find parking, letters, May 23).

My aim was to present an unbiased analysis of the new car parking charges as I saw them and of their effect on visitors to Diss whether residents or from beyond.

There are many fit people of all ages who can and do walk into town but there are also many who for various reasons can only walk limited distances and who do not consider themselves sufficiently impaired to apply for disabled passes.

They would rather leave disabled parking spaces to those truly in need.

Julia Brett, Diss

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Booklet was a shared project

I wish to set straight the impression given in Cynthia Schears' Cittaslow column (Diss Express, May 16), that the Diss booklet about Thomas Paine was entirely funded by Cittaslow.

Funding for the booklet was shared equally between Cittaslow and the Friends of Diss Museum.

I trust that this was merely an oversight and that the Friends are not one of the 'established groups', making themselves 'deliberately impenetrable', for whom Cynthia darkly admits to having a special distaste (sounds like the Mafia – is the Italian inspiration to Cittaslow starting to rub off?)

The Friends of Diss Museum are certainly well-established.

We have been actively supporting the museum over the past 15 years.

The funds we raise go to help special museum projects.

Anyone wishing to join will be warmly welcomed. We are not in the least impenetrable.

Alison Molnos, Chairman, Friends of Diss Museum, Diss