I'D like to respond to E Brunswick’s letter imploring the council to make Skipton town centre a more pleasant place to be and shop in.

I heartily support the comments and suggestions made and I know that these views are widely shared judging by past letters in your letters pages, and conversations that I’ve had with residents and friends in all the time that I have lived in Skipton.

I’ve also suggested such changes at Policy Committee and I know that there is support from a number of councillors.

As a newly elected councillor last year I had the pleasure of walking my ward with the chief executive of Craven District Council and I raised the possibility with him of pedestrianising the high street. With imagination and good planning, we could have a very green and pleasant High Street, with the suggested flower beds, maybe boxes (the sponsorship idea is good, after all businesses sponsor roundabouts), attractive seating and much more.

Maybe a covered bike shelter for the increasing number of people on bicycles? Let’s not forget Jerry Croft in all of this which is a nightmare to walk up and down. Can we restrict lorry deliveries to M&S etc out of the hours of 8am to 6pm? And widen the pavement for pedestrians?

Coach Street needs attention too. There are plenty of good and popular businesses there too but the pavement is so narrow. Do we need parking on Coach Street with a massive car park just over the bridge?

Continental European towns and cities such as Copenhagen and Freiberg could teach us a great deal about making Skipton more human friendly especially for those on foot or on a bicycle.

This will mean diverting vehicles as well as the large teams of cyclists that surge up and down the high street, away from the high street, perhaps permanently. As I said this needs careful planning.

I was told by the chief executive that a sticking point had been the market traders but look at the high street now.

There’s plenty of space to peruse the market and so much easier to access the shops.

The time has come to make Skipton High Street pedestrianised throughout the working week.

Cllr David Noland

Craven district councillor

Green Party

Skipton