I write in support of Christina Townley who portrayed Oxford city centre as a disgrace (Oxford Mail, March 22).

I have lived and worked in Oxford for 50 years and a considerable amount of that time in the city centre.

I was proud of the city and its history, to assist visitors whenever possible and to show off our city of gleaming spires.

Alas, as the years have passed, the city centre has passed from an area of outstanding beauty to one of litter, old bikes attached to lamp standards, roadworks and buses.

Oxford city centre must be the most historic bus station in the country. When will the city and county councils wake up to their responsibility to the council taxpayers and stop wasting money?

How many more times will Cornmarket be resurfaced? Will New Osney (the railway station area) be resurfaced again?

Although I no longer live in Oxford, I still work there and I feel ashamed when I hear remarks from visitors such as "This must have been beautiful once" as a general remark overheard on Carfax.

City councillor Matt Sellwood remarked that citizens should report the areas of concern to the council.

Do councillors attending city or county council meetings walk with their eyes shut?

Do they suffer from tunnel vision? Perhaps they, too, have a responsibility to report areas of concern to the councils, or do they think that all is right with the world?

RICHARD COHEAD, Brackley