I CANNOT understand why the dissention regarding shopping and parking sites in Ely is even occurring. The olde worlde shopping centre of Ely should be switched to Angel Drove wholesale. The only shopping that should remain is that which supports the visit

I CANNOT understand why the dissention regarding shopping and parking sites in Ely is even occurring. The olde worlde shopping centre of Ely should be switched to Angel Drove wholesale.

The only shopping that should remain is that which supports the visitors to the cathedral such as gift shops, antique emporiums, hotels, restaurants, pubs and ice cream parlours.

The subsequent excess parking in Broad Street, St Mary's Street and Barton Road would be more than adequate for residents. In Broad Street the answer is obvious when you step through into the almost completely unused recreation ground behind Broad Street and to the King's School facilities and cathedral.

The car showroom and cement site and the sports field should be converted to a main shopping area as part and parcel of the Mall of shopping and service centres and whether it is Lidl, Sainbury's or someone else, they should be encouraged to provide facilities for other types of shopping such as hardware, clothing, furniture and electrical goods as franchise operations within their store areas as opposed to doing what Tesco are doing in being all things to all men.

Angel Drove would become an on site estate road for the shopping, railway, buses and parking.

Indeed, the police station, the council offices, Library, fire and ambulance services could easily be accommodated and would be far better able to cover all requirements being sited on a wide straight road onto the A10/A142 to King's Lynn.

The railway station should be moved to where the Bury line crosses the river which would allow a new wide road to be built from there to the A10/A142 island encompassing the new southern Ely bypass alongside the railway line onto an overpass where the station currently stands blocking almost every means of traffic and pedestrian upgrading. There is already a new road from Stuntney Causeway to the new rail bridge that can take 100-tonne cranes.

All it needs is a bridge over the railway line to join with the road to the A10/A142 island. It seems to me that either by accident or act of God all of the answers to Ely's problems are self pro-creating. I don't suppose ECDC and the county council will have noticed.

JK PENDREY.

Bancroft Lane

Soham