I WAS shocked on Saturday morning to find that Salisbury market was half empty.

It appears that a mixture of premature reorganisation by the market authorities and a protest about the heavy handed way in which the planned rebuild is being implemented caused many of the stallholders to stay away.

As a result the market was hardly functioning. If this goes on, the market will cease to exist.

The Market Place project is putting shoppers’ and evening visitors’ backs up, disrupting the long established charter market, and annoying city traders and, like the New Canal scheme, is totally unnecessary at a time when the nation is desperately short of money.

This is the third time in the last 20 years that the market square has been redeveloped which does not say much for the earlier work.

The money would be more usefully spent maintaining existing facilities like roads. Unfortunately it is probably too late to do the sensible thing and postpone or, better still, cancel the project.

I suggest that Wiltshire councillors should remember that they were elected by the people and must listen to their views. They need to implement the project sympathetically before it does irreparable damage to the city economy and ambiance.

RICHARD CLAYTON, Salisbury

I don’t know who did the “research” for the council, but cllr Clewer’s claim that: “You cannot get British granite any more” (Journal Postbag, March 14) is utterly wrong.

It is shocking that the council’s research failed to find a British supplier when a simple internet search brought me the names of several suppliers in seconds.

We even have relatively local suppliers. Cornwall has, for hundreds of years, supplied high quality granite from its quarries and continues to do so today.

Just to be sure of my facts I contacted two companies directly, both of whom confirmed to me that they would be delighted to provide granite for Salisbury.

Will cllr Clewer now reveal why the research was so remiss and who is going to be taken to task for such an appallingly poor procurement process? Did cllr Clewer himself not question the information he was given, when it is so patently obvious that it has to be wrong?

If we must have the plan the council is imposing for the Market Place, then let’s at least get the facts right.

TEAN MITCHELL, Hindon