Sir – I am very much in favour of the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre and I am pleased to see that demolition has finally commenced. Working in the construction industry myself, I also subscribe to the adage of ‘you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs’.

However, having visited the city centre on Friday night and having parked in the new temporary car park adjacent to the ice rink, it struck me just how far removed from the city centre the temporary car park is and moreover, how unpleasant a walk it is after dark.

In the absence of Norfolk Street, to access the city centre one has either to walk via Old Greyfriars  Street and past the service yard to the rear of the existing Westgate Centre, via Turn Again Lane and St Ebbes Street or via Paradise Street.

These routes are not particularly pleasant during the hours of daylight and become increasingly unsavoury after dark as they are poorly lit, not very well overlooked and are away from any centre of activity such as pubs or shops. Moreover, I am afraid to say that they are adorned with places where the less desirable gather.

As such, as part of the demolition and construction phases of the Westgate redevelopment, I am surprised that nothing has been done to improve connectivity between the temporary car park and the city centre, if nothing else to improve personal safety. Indeed my partner has indicated that she would feel unsafe walking alone between the two after dark.

Not only is this a matter of personal safety, but if the walking routes are to remain unattractive throughout the construction phase, one has to question whether this will further detract from use of the city centre by occasional visitors such as myself and thus be detrimental to city-centre trade as a whole.

I would, therefore, urge the city and county councils to give consideration to improving the quality of the short-term connectivity between the city centre and temporary parking facility.

Tim Foxall, Long Wittenham