An Isle of Wight bridge

SIR – David Blackford (Letters, August 25) calls for a bridge to connect the Isle of Wight to the mainland.

I was born on the island in 1953 and lived there until 2005. During those years, the subject of a fixed link was discussed several times, and on each occasion the residents dismissed it.

Like a lot of areas in Britain, the island has suffered from a lack of investment in its infrastructure over many years. In the period between the two censuses of 1991 and 2011, the population grew by nearly 12,500; this has stretched the resources of all public services, especially health, as there are already many elderly residents among the population.

The Isle of Wight is a beautiful area. A fixed link would risk bringing many more people to it, thereby destroying its uniqueness. The island has many problems, but a bridge or tunnel is not necessarily the answer. Matthew Biddlecombe Sampford Courtenay, Devon SIR – A bridge to the Isle of Wight would be costly to build: expensive ferries would simply be replaced by expensive tolls.

Worse, it would greatly increase traffic and ruin the character and peaceful charm that make the island such a calming place to live and visit. Peter Saunders Salisbury, Wiltshire SIR – In his article (Comment, August 24) on white poverty blighting the seaside, James Kirkup did not address one important consideration.

The Isle of Wight has easily the largest population of any parliamentary constituency in Britain. Things might be a lot better if it had a second MP. Chris Minter London SW6