THE response to your front-page article on Palmyra Square was predictable, but unfortunately does not advance the debate (if indeed there is one).

Thanks to the article and the objections by the business and professional firms in the area we were invited to a meeting at the Town Hall where we have been assured some consultation will now take place. Both representatives and officers have apologised for the lack of consultation to date.

However, whether it will take us any further is questionable. My understanding is that, to comply with requirements to open the national purse strings, the Council has to pursue a policy which produces a cycling and pedestrian culture. As business needs vehicular access the two are not compatible and the inevitable result will be further depopulation of the Square and its environs. According to the Council Officers this does not make them anti-business.

Concerns that such a policy is unrealistic and business "may'' suffer have also been acknowledged.

What a pity that opportunities are being lost because policy is dictated by (and some might say promoted by) attainable cash rather than common sense.

And why such concerted reaction to your article? It is our desire to support the development of Warrington as a commercial and cultural centre that has led to our objections. As employers and property owners in the area we have invested heavily in the success of Warrington. We believe that there is an opportunity for both business and culture in Warrington to prosper together and that alternatives to the Council's one-sided proposals should be vigorously explored.

Incidentally we can take the individual criticisms of our business and firms, but the survivors are still here precisely because we have had the acumen to develop. Visit our website, for example, (www.voisey.co.uk of course) if you want to see how many new and oversea-owned businesses we act for.

CHRISTOPHER THOMSON

Voisey &Co

Chartered Accountants

Winmarleigh Street

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.