SIR - Goldinghams' letter in this week's Gazette mentioned "extreme difficulty" in recruiting young professionals to Wotton and other local towns, which "may lead to closures elsewhere".

Our PR and research business is growing and we attract people who commute from Bristol, Gloucester and Marlborough, as well as those who live in or near Wotton. But the shortage of available parking means that staff start very early to be sure they can park.

We also meet visitors in Tetbury or Tortworth because they cannot park when they arrive. It is getting worse. We have tried to rent private parking, but there is none, and there is virtually no public transport. What there is, is expensive and unreliable.

We won the Construction Marketing Award for Agency of the Year 2004 and will use it to win new business and recruit new staff. But we'll have to find new premises within the next two years to accommodate our growth. Sadly we accept this cannot be in Wotton, and we will have to move, because more people mean more problems.

Parking isn't the only problem. The electricity supply is unreliable and at times we have frequent blackouts, sometimes several in a day. Anyone working with computers will know what that means. We may even lose our post office.

When we relocate Wotton will lose out. Employees lunch and shop locally, for convenience. Those who live here will travel and spend in our new location or get alternative jobs, and travel and spend there. They are unlikely to find work in Wotton.

Living towns need local businesses. Most young people have to leave Wotton to work and live. Those who stay mostly commute. Over the years Wotton has become unfriendly to business, and is now seen as a place to sleep or retire to.

Charity shops fill the gaps where businesses used to be, but they are no substitute. People think twice before setting up business in Wotton because it is increasingly difficult to do business here.

We would prefer to stay but see no sign that local authorities put a priority on business, and Wotton itself seems unable to influence decisions on what is good for Wotton's long term interests.

M G Rigby Managing director Michael Rigby Associates Market Street Wotton-under-Edge