I READ with satisfaction that measures of the success of the Christmas market were made in terms of number of visitors, where they came from, how much they spent etc.

I also note that the fire and rescue service and the police always present measures of their effectiveness at area board meetings. Western society leapt ahead of older civilisations due to this scientific approach of rejecting witchcraft and using measurements.

Much mathematics and measurements go into deciding whether and where to build a new road, a new reservoir, a new power station or such.

However, Salisbury appears to be unique in having gone back to witchcraft in the area board deciding to banish the Tuesday market coaches from parking in the New Canal and fully ban cars from evening parking the Market Place.

Did the area board find out how many cars park in the Market Place in the evenings, where the occupants spent their evenings, and how much money they spent?

The area board hasn’t a clue. It has acted democratically on the whims of a small number of people. Nothing wrong with democracy but as the voting for the police commissioners showed, the majority of people want the facts before they are willing to cast their votes.

The area board has not obtained any facts for the vast majority of people to form their opinions. Even when it tried to show the new surface it proposed, it failed and we are not having any of the surfaces which were built as examples.

The area board never collected any data on the economic effects of their decisions, just witchcraft; believe what it says on the magic bottle.

ALAN CLARKE, Salisbury