WHAT is there not to like about the idea of a cafe culture?

All that outdoor sitting and sipping drinks comfortably in the sunshine quickly sparks holiday memories and epitomises laidback living.

Unfortunately, in Bolton it may have to remain a pipe dream because trying to turn the revamped Churchgate into a pleasant outdoor eating and drinking venue could easily be spoiled by drunken yobs.

The town already has a perfectly good bylaw about outdoor drinking which stems from the problems that mobile drunken louts cause.

A "café culture" in practice here just seems to be about getting round both this and the new anti-smoking laws.

In any case, if we are trying so hard to get more people to live in the town centre, why are we creating a rowdier and more problematical environment for its residents?