I am writing to you about the lack of seating in the town centre, which gets worse week by week.

In the square outside Primark are two benches, outside Boots is another bench, outside WHSmith is a bench, the next bench is by the Sky stand and another further on.

Sometimes there is some benches outside Mr Simms, but they go like the wind.

What you may ask is my grip with these benches? Well I’m not a young person but I am 73 with a bad back and slow walker and elderly and must have plenty of places to sit down between Sainsbury’s and M&S but, as mentioned above, these are not too well placed and there are no benches what so ever in the square by Superdrug, so the walk from WHSmith to M&S is a very long walk for the less well able, being elderly or disabled.

There used to be benches in the square before lockdown but they have not been replaced or returned is that the management of Festival Place don’t want us cluttering up the centre or do they think that the young people will congregate on the benches and make a lot of noise and mess?

I have spoken to lots of older people, and they all say the same thing, not enough seating.

Is there a solution to this problem or are we just a nuisance?

Heather Roche

Bernstein Road

Brighton Hill

Basingstoke

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