What a shame for the future of Berry that the hotel expansion has not been accepted ("'Sydney-looking': uproad over $10m pub plans", February 12). The old pub is crying out to be reinvented.

Compared to some of the plans for the future of nearby Kiama, the architectural concept seems quite acceptable, and the trees in Princess Street will soon grow higher than the three storeys planned for the new build.

I am sure the locals also said the Berry pub itself was "too Sydney" when it was first planned about 160 years ago.

Things do change. New ideas must be embraced for the good that will follow. The area desperately needs more tourist accommodation. At the moment, Berry is like a ghost town after 5pm, when all the day trippers have gone.

I well remember this community was equally divided as to what side of town the new bypass should be routed. Now that's finally up and running it's hard to imagine life in Berry without it, no matter what side of town it ended up on. It seems the NIMBY approach to any sort of change continues to create a very predictable stumbling block for those with fresh, imaginative visions.

G. Vale