I WAS saddened to see that those who should know better, and care a lot more, should be so opposed to the idea of a lift in the Market House.

Who are the many who signed a petition some years ago? They obviously don't have any family members who are elderly or disabled.

I have elderly friends who would love to be able to visit the chamber where our town council meets each Thursday evening, or to see the Guild of Herefordshire craftspeople when they visit, but they cannot manage the stairs and so are excluded.

In bygone days the trustees of the Market House made not one, but two staircases up into the several rooms once there, and had one or two shops beneath, as mentioned by Sylvia Pinches in her book Ledbury, a Market Town and its Tudor Heritage.

A modern lift would take far less room than those "one or two shops" once did, and could easily be installed in the turn of the existing Victorian staircase with minimal loss of space.

If Ledbury Places is to get anywhere such a change should not be a problem.

Celia G Kellett

Ledbury