OXFORD had one of the loveliest and liveliest covered markets in England. Now it is rather chilling to walk into the market from the Golden Cross, past the three large shops that have been left empty.

What was special about our 18th century market was the varied and local character of the shops. There was a covenant aimed at retaining this character but Councillor Colin Cook seemed oblivious to this when he decided to go for the applicant, a national chain of cheap tourist goods but offering the highest rent, to replace Palms Delicatessen at the heart of the market. I discovered, from a question I put to Colin at a council meeting, that there had in fact been 30 applicants, most of them local and in character with the market. Am I right in thinking Colin oversaw the fiasco of the millions lost to the city in the resurfacing of Cornmarket that had to be re-done, and he has also left us the legacy of strange benches that only foreign schoolchildren have mastered the art of using? Now we also have the scandal of the horrendous building of the university residences lowering over another of Oxford’s jewels, Port Meadow, on Colin’s watch. Colin once insisted to me that we should “leave the running of the city to the professionals”. I have always felt that the whole point of the city having councillors was to have local people, aware of what was special to the city, protecting it. Perhaps Colin should leave what he sees as a token role as city councillor and stick to his day job for the University. NUALA YOUNG Tree Lane Oxford