IWAS born and brought up in Blackburn. My grandfather, Rueben Culshaw, served as a councillor and Alderman on Blackburn Council and later my father, Kenneth Culshaw, was an independent councillor for St Silas' Ward.

During the 1960s your newspaper, called him the 'Lone Wolf' as he alone spoke out against the demolition of the Victorian Market Hall, with the golden globe on the top which generations had watched rise at noon and descend at 1pm.

He spoke out against the loss of the Market Square and other Victorian buildings of character. He was a thorn in the side of the council as both Labour and Conservatives voted in favour of building the 'new Blackburn' with apparently little regard for preserving the past.

Blackburn has a proud past and had a heritage worth preserving. Other towns seemed able to modernise their town centres but still maintained the architecture that had been built to last.

There is a certain irony to read of the current situation in Blackburn. If my father were alive today, he would gain no satisfaction.

What he would probably say is that you can't replace the character of the town which was lost, but you must preserve the little that is left and in planning new buildings and thoroughfares, please get it right this time.

I was delighted to read that Darwen is preserving the India Mill chimney which my great grandfather built. It is a magnificent example of our heritage and a superb legacy from the Victoria era. Can we build something that our great-grandchildren will be proud of?

VALERIE C BOOTHMAN, Ditcheat, Shepton Mallet, Somerset.