I HAVE been following with interest the on-going correspondence regarding the proposed traffic-free Church Street/Darwen Street shopping area in Blackburn.

Up to now, it has been a straight contest between the council and the Chamber of Trade.

And as I have formed the impression that the council couldn't run a bath, let alone a vibrant shopping area, I have been under the impression that the Chamber of Trade were united in their need to "put cash into the tills," i.e. they needed shoppers.

It was, therefore, with some amazement and not a little incredulity that I read Mr R O'Keeffe's observations (Letters, April 4) as I had always thought that he was a leading light in the Chamber of Trade. Obviously not! He says that there will be more than 30 parking spaces for the businesses in Church Street. It might appear academic, but why provide parking spaces in a traffic-free zone?

Similarly, where will the additional on-street car parking appear from in Darwen Street? Will there be additional streets?

Why is the risk of crossing Church Street greater than that of having to negotiate all the junctions that will be encountered on this great perambulation down Darwen Street, and up Grimshaw Park?

Who exactly does Mr O'Keeffe envisage walking this marathon, because most of the shoppers I have observed only just manage a 15-yard stagger to the nearest taxi!

Mr O'Keeffe must like staring into an empty till, or he is shutting up shop and, no, my business is conducted 56 miles away, where the traffic flows freely.

R HOLT, Revidge Road, Blackburn.