SIR — The business people of Minehead have spoken and without fail we are all agreed that something drastic has to be done to bring the town back into repute.

It's no good relying on our town, district or county councils to come up with the solutions - that's our job. It is theirs as elected officials to follow our instructions - not to find ways of avoiding them.

We have to impress upon highways that the need for the rapid transition of road transport from Butlins to The Parade must give way to the interests of tourism - it's no good having a wonderful seafront and promenade if it entails dodging boy-racers, trucks and buses in the process.

The clue is in the name - 'Promenade' comes from the French word for 'walk'. We also have an Esplanade, which the Oxford Dictionary describes as 'a level piece of ground used for public promenade'.

Somehow this public place of walk has been superseded by the need to move bodies around at speed in their cars.

If we are to attract tourists to this town, we have to entertain them, give them things to see and a reason for coming.

At the moment a visit to the seafront involves paying what must be the highest hourly parking rates of any seaside town in the country - I defy anyone to find a more expensive one, certainly not in the southwest.

Coupled with the welcome the visitors are likely to get from our traffic officers, I'm at a loss to know why anyone would bother to come at all.

So here is what we need from March 15 to November 15:

l Reduce Warren Road from the Seaward Way roundabout to Tregonwell Road to a single lane.

l Reduce the speed limit from 30 to 10mph.

l Use the spare lane (on the seaward side) for diagonal parking.

l Reduce parking fees to 50p an hour with the first half hour free. Or a daily rate of £4.

l Provide markets and entertainment along the seafront.

l Provide deck chairs and bicycle hire.

l Improve the public conveniences.

Once this has been achieved, traders and entertainers will want to come to the town and, above all, so will the visitors.

If you would be like to join me in being part of a deputation to visit the county council with these demands - we're past proposing - please email me at [email protected]">[email protected]

John Clyde-Smith,

Minehead.