Never mind whether you think the changes that are being made to many local towns at the moment are good or bad: what is clear is that change in some shape or form is inevitable, and that a refusal to contemplate it leads to stagnation.

Here in Trowbridge it has taken decades to effect the changes that have brought about the regeneration of parts of the town, so that we now have homes, a Sainsbury’s supermarket, a cinema and restaurants where there was once a large employer (Ushers) and another supermarket (Tesco).

Finally, work is under way to build a second cinema (Cineworld), another supermarket (Morrisons) and more restaurants to land where we used to have another major employer (Bowyers).

One thing they haven’t fiddled about with for many years in Trowbridge is the traffic system. Maybe it’s time they did.

The various alterations to the local layout have resulted in some really odd road layouts, frankly dangerous in places, as on Bythesea Road outside The Shires and The Gateway shopping centres.

The combination of a speed hump and the new mini-roundabout on St Stephens Place is none-too-clever, either, and am I the only person who seethes every time I see another driver ignore the No Left Turn down Castle Street?

If they ever do something about our town’s traffic, I hope the people of Trowbridge will be less dogmatic about the prospect of change than their neighbours in Bradford on Avon. I’ve not got space – or time, or inclination – here to go into the history, ins and outs, rights and wrongs, of the Historic Core Zone scheme.

But it’s difficult not to see the reaction of some people to the parish poll’s ‘No’ vote as rather childish, especially when it boils down in some cases to ‘It’s not fair, lots of us voted ‘Yes’ and our voices are being ignored.’ Life’s not fair (with apologies to Lion King). What we have is democracy, which at least tries to offer a fair and free vote to all. We should be grateful we’ve got it and are not subject to the rule of the gun and bomb, or spying and whispers.

As we come up to a national General Election, and campaigning grows to persuade everyone, young people in particular, to use their vote, what sort of message does it send to the youth of Bradford on Avon to say ‘We don’t think this should count because we lost’.