SIR, I was greatly saddened to see that Evesham is shortlisted as one of the most depressing towns in the country.

It was good to see the mayor’s defence of the town and that of several readers.

The town has one of the best natural settings.

The newly-restored Abbey site is a fantastic addition to the already fabulous park and riverside setting.

True, there are far less shops than there used to be, but Evesham is certainly not alone in that respect.

And maybe all of us who buy ever more online need to question the impact of our actions.

What shops we do have provide great service, whether newspaper deliveries or selling kitchen appliances.

And the choice of cafes and restaurants is tremendous.

I have just been to Flavours early Friday evening and there wasn’t a spare table.

As for entertainment - there is a huge amount going on.

As someone who puts a massive amount of time into Evesham Festival of Words - just one of a whole host of festivals in the town - I would ask the detractors what they contribute.

How many local business do they support?

How many events do they come to?

Dr Susan Ablett

Evesham

 

SIR, What a pity that somebody described Evesham as “depressing”!

I was born and raised in the Vale of Evesham in the 50s and 60s, went to Prince Henry’s school and come back to visit every few years.

It’s a market town, not pretentious, with an impressive history.

It is still beautiful, certainly not depressing.

The River Avon beside the Workman Gardens is still lovely and the Bell Tower and Abbey are well-maintained.

Market Square is lively and cheerful.

I was a bit disappointed during my last visit in September by Port Street leading up to Bengeworth, which looks run-down and buildings not in good repair.

Perhaps building owners could be given some incentive (such as a competition?) to maintain their facades better and give their shop fronts a good clean-up and paint job!

But, all in all, it’s a great little place and I still regard it as “home”.

Rosemary Garnet

Victoria, British Colombia, Canada

 

SIR, Your report on the dissolution of the ‘separate company’ running the county’s Children’s Services (Journal, 25 January) showed once again the fallacy of the idea that public services can be run effectively even with this type of ‘half-privatisation’.

This company, which was wholly owned by the County Council, took over from the engineering firm Babcock when it was felt that Babcock hadn’t quite got the hang of the culture needed to run services for the public good rather than for profit.

Now the service is to come back ‘in house’ where it belongs.

It goes along with a whole range of public services, including water and sewage, railways, buses, and energy utilities, which struggle when they are operated for profit, rather than the common good.

We need urgently to regain the spirit of service to the community still shown by many in our public services, despite the pressures of creeping privatisation.

It is still there in much of the NHS although being continually whittled away by those who don’t seem to believe human beings can genuinely work for one another rather than the ‘bottom line’.

Incidentally, I haven’t seen letters pages in some recent editions of the Journal.

Hopefully, this does not mean you have given in to ‘social media’ and there is still a place for public discussion on your pages.

Revd David Haslam

Evesham