Letter: Witless and spiteful

They don’t have the luxury of limitless car parking like Meadowhall or support beyond the community or regular customers.

They don't have £40,000 for an electric delivery van like Amazon and they don’t have a bank that wants to loan them money to upgrade against falling or modest turnovers.

What they do have is a council locked in a seemingly mutual death dance with the forces of change for the sake of change.

We have a publicly voted set of officials who are telling residents on a road in Crookes that they will do as they are told and await the whims and fancies of their elected officials.

This is not democracy.

Where is the consensus and engagement to create better neighbourhoods?

It’s not there in any meaningful way.

When residents say "no" it means yes to them.

A quick count of the small independents trying to get a foothold on Abbeydale road along with institutions like Bragazzis and Forge Bakery will show that unlike the myriad independents in Leeds and Manchester Northern Quarter these seeds of change and creators of locally sustainable business and simply being crushed under the red bus lane ideas of people who frankly wouldn’t pass an interview for a car wash.

We could still support these businesses by public transport, if we had them, which we don’t.

I suppose I could roller skate along the new red routes safely.

I certainly wouldn’t get hit by a bus.

I like many others try to shop in the little indie businesses we have and urge all your readers to shop locally too and keep the doors of variety open.

In spite of our witless and spiteful council.

Tony Abdy

Hill Turrets Close, Sheffield, S11