RELUCTANT as I am to introduce Christmas into our summertime, commercial pressures forcing us along mean that decisions have to be taken now which will affect us all come November, through Christmas and into the New Year.

I refer of course to the Town Centre Management Company's move to apply once again to our Planning Councillors for permission to erect a huge commercial undertaking right bang in front of our prestigious Town Hall and revered war memorial in the form of the 'annual ice skating rink'.

The Town Hall Square is not the place to locate such a huge structure completely dominating the space which is for most patriotic Boltonians the place where, if they feel any Civic Pride at all, is where it occurs.

Not that I am against the idea of providing such a facility at that time of the year, I applaud the concept, but deplore the location which, surely to keep it in the town centre, would be better placed on Cheadle Square and become part of the New Year Fair attraction.

As you walk through the Square admiring yet again the stunning architectural quality of our Town Hall and turning towards the memorial, remembering all our Bolton Lads who made the supreme sacrifice, the last thing you want to be confronted by is this huge white obstruction causing you to alter course to make progress.

Yes, the Square should be used for 'events' involving Bolton public -- but these should be temporary -- no more than a few days and preferably on a daily basis. The current proposal is to extend the rink not only in size, but also in placement from the end of November right through to the third week of January, supposedly by popular demand, and on the pretext of attracting shoppers to the town centre. How many more boarded up shop fronts we witness this year since the presence of last year's rink -- it did not work and cannot be used as an argument in its favour.

I spoke to people last Christmas and the consensus was that, while they liked the idea, they did not like it on the Square and felt some other place close by should be found for it.

You won't find any established cities blotting out their main architectural attraction for a prolonged period at any time of the year, least of all at Christmas.

If any of your readers feel the same they should make their views known to councillors, phone the Town Hall and talk to the Planning Officers, or put pen to paper and write to the BEN. This is the way to change things and to our councillors I say it's time to get back to basics on the Square and the more traditional ways of celebrating Christmas for all of us, not just the select 'few' who choose to skate their way into the New Year. I'm happy to see them do it by all means elsewhere, but, please, not on the Square.

Anthony J. Boddy

Hulton Lane

Bolton