I sympathise with the traders of Railway Road currently 30per cent down on their takings as a result of the recent closure of the bus station.

Their anxieties have been put to both their landlords and the council who have dismissed their plight saying things should “pick up” in a couple of years. I doubt that their losses will sustain them this long.

Blackburn centre, in my opinion, has seen a downward spiral since the Sixties when the old Victorian market hall, three- day market and scores of shops were bulldozed away.

We lost a unique, individual and eclectic array of shops, many family owned for generations. They were replaced by the big boys, surrounded by glass, steel and concrete, selling us what they want us to buy.

The current proposed boulevard development is another white elephant. The Cathedral authorities, owners of the boulevard, seem to have lost sight of the fact that this is Blackburn – not Salisbury, Exeter, or Oxford.

I’m surprised that their plans don’t include opening up the river Blakewater – it would give us an entertaining display of the rats jumping over discarded shopping trolleys.

As for the planned luxury hotel – will it be DSS welcoming?

Yet another colossal waste of money.

Mr PS Woods Clitheroe