I WRITE regarding Colin Cook’s comments in your article (Market in deep crisis, October 18).

One can usually rely upon Councillor Cook for a rather silly comment but on this occasion he has excelled himself.

We are in the worst economic climate for decades and, like other businesses, market traders are also faced with increases in business rates and energy costs etc.

As a result of these difficult times, businesses are suffering financially and see little prospect of any improvement. It’s a concept that Councillor Cook seems unwilling or unable to grasp.

These prolonged poor trading conditions and a general lack of confidence has resulted in an unprecedented number of shops in the market being offered for sale. To attribute this in part to tenants “cashing in their chips” is asinine, pompous and ill-informed.

It really is no more than a blatant attempt by Councillor Cook to deflect attention from the rapacious rent increase the council is seeking.

I challenge Councillor Cook to provide evidence of any trader “cashing in their chips” as a result of age since the last rent review five years ago, never mind those in what appears to be a rush to leave a sinking ship.

It is quite obvious just how out of touch he is when he says the council assesses rents by looking at “close comparators on the High Street”.

It seems to have escaped his attention but the traditional trades and small businesses the council purports to support have long since been forced out of any city centre location by high rents.

This refusal to pay attention to conventional wisdom makes it difficult, if not impossible, for traders to negotiate with the council in a meaningful way. It is time the council ventured into the real world.

CHRIS FARREN Chairman of the Oxford Covered Market Tenants Association