After attending many of the consultation meetings regarding the redevelopment of the Market Square and – as an outsider with no real connection to the town – it becomes obvious what the best solution is for improvement.

Today, the Square is almost exclusively used as a place for drinking, and only occasionally used as a place for markets to trade. Endless amounts of people are complaining that the redevelopment would lead to a drop in sales due to traffic and parking-space losses.

Why not just build a car-park then? A simple tarmac-laden car-park with a road on each side would provide the town centre with business, customers with somewhere to leave their cars, drunks with nowhere to drink and, on occasion, can be emptied to provide market space.

Who needs aesthetics in a time of practicality? Sure, it would look bland and dull – but at least it would be utilised to serve the Town’s best interests. People do not come to towns and centres to simply gawk at a fountain display. What they really need are parking spaces, straight roads, pedestrian crossing, benches, and most importantly, places to buy goods and services.