BEFORE any development begins at Sudell Cross and at the junction of Penny Street and Salford, Blackburn, regarding recent articles in the LET, can the infrastructure be developed first?

Penny Street is difficult at the best of times. Many times I either drive down or walk down Penny Street and see buses double parked, parked at an angle effectively making it single lane, cars and vans parked on the pavement opposite the buses, forcing pedestrians into the road to get past.

Any development round that area, without ample room for the extra traffic, will grid-lock an already busy area.

The Sudell Cross area doesn't need grass and trees as the artist impression suggests, it needs better traffic flows both in and out, as people try to get as close to the shops as possible to cut the walking distance.

What is really needed is easier access to the town centre multi-storey car parks and cheaper/free parking to attract shoppers.

That is one of the attractions of the Trafford Centre: everything under one roof, easy access, free parking, so come on developers, be radical, "look outside the box."

Blackburn needs shops, shops need shoppers, shoppers need easy access to the shops and equally easy access back to their mode of transport with arms full of shopping bags.

JOHN BELL, Whitehall Road, Blackburn.