Park-and-ride and buses are the key

TWENTY years ago I was one of the small group of people who worked hard to ensure that the cathedral paddock was not built on. With the help of the Getty Trust, English Heritage, the Cathedral Advisory Board and many others we were able to help the then

TWENTY years ago I was one of the small group of people who worked hard to ensure that the cathedral paddock was not built on.

With the help of the Getty Trust, English Heritage, the Cathedral Advisory Board and many others we were able to help the then Dean and Chapter to put in place a programme that allowed them to repair and improve the medieval buildings and still retain the Paddock as part of the green and pleasant setting for the cathedral. It was a solution that benefited us all.

It seems to me to be a terrible tragedy that 20 years on, another part of the cathedral land is now under threat.

Pouring Tarmac over this piece of land will not provide the much-needed solution to Ely's transport problems and indeed they are transport problems and not just car-parking problems.

A really good local bus service and a park-and-ride scheme would make a real difference.

Cycling must be encouraged and it seems to me to be a great pity that Ely has not benefited from some of the money that the Government has made available to towns so that they can encourage greater use of the bicycle.

We need good cycle ways to our schools, to the railway station and to the town centre and we also need proper facilities for bike parking.

In some towns in Holland and Denmark, 60 per cent of all journeys are by bike.

That would solve our transport problems, keep us fit, cut down on pollution, and save our medieval heritage.

ELIZABETH HUNTER

Prickwillow Rd

Ely