Councillor Simon Battle suggested extending pedestrianisation in George Street, Hove until 6pm on weekdays and introducing it on Sundays (The Argus, April 27).

The reasons quoted were safety and that two unnamed groups had asked for it. The groups are obviously in Coun Battle's Vallance ward and their members can probably walk to George Street and so are against any vehicles in the street. Will councillors ever bother to listen to what residents from other parts of the city think?

With regard to safety, to my knowledge there has been no accident in the street since pedestrianisation and there have been only two or three in the past 42 years I have traded there. This probably makes it one of the safest streets in the city.

It is a little less than a year since the improvements were carried out and still Brighton and Hove City Council has failed to introduce traffic regulations, thereby making it impossible for police or traffic wardens to enforce the law - because there is none.

I would have thought it obvious that, first, enforceable traffic regulations are installed and given a reasonable trial before making changes to opening times.

The six months the improvements took were difficult to say the least. Now we have an attractive street and trade is slowly improving so do not rock the boat without first seeing what effect regulations will have.

At present, as vehicles come back into the street at 4pm there is a sharp increase in trade and traders are able to take in deliveries that could not make the 10am deadline. Can councillors please stop interfering and, perhaps some day, approach the traders for their views? The Hove Business Association is preparing a survey to find out how traders and customers find the street and if they have any suggestions for improvements.

-Alan Gibson, (Gibson & Co), George Street, Hove