THE matter of compensation to be charged against Hochtief for the delays to the Abbey Bridge closure needs careful watching, particularly since Worcestershire County Council has yet remained undecided as to its final spend.

Whether it is £200,000 or £250,000 or whatever is uncertain at this moment, and will not be finally decided until the bridge is completed and Hochtief has departed.

We, the townsfolk, need to be speaking clearly and with one voice.

The money should be used to compensate the retailers and traders who have suffered so badly though the six months of its closure.

It must not be allowed to pay for the six orange-coated workmen who directed the traffic each and every day, seven days a week, month after month for those six months through the dreadful traffic management system imposed on the town by the county council.

It particularly disappoints me that our town council was so weak as to allow it to be imposed on our town, and I am awaiting disclosure of that cost.

While on the subject of cost, let us not forget the hours used and the fuel costs endured by all drivers of vehicles patiently waiting to gain entry into and out of the town through those many weeks.

Reducing the parking charges for a trial period is not good enough; they should be reduced permanently if the future of Evesham is to be seriously considered.

Peter Wisbey

Evesham