I WAS surprised to read in last week's Gazette how many gas lamps were still in use in the Malvern Hills area.

They cannot be allowed to disappear from our local scene, being part of our heritage.

However, in this day and age they are no longer a practical proposition for general road lighting and I feel some form of 'selective cull' must take place before an application is made to get the remainder Listed.

Concentration of lamps in selected locations, such as the Priory Churchyard, would be an option with outlying isolated lamps being removed or converted to electricity.

One example I know is a single lamp on Poolbrook Road, near St Andrews Church at the 30/40mph limit change. This lamp, once sharing the common with another lamp at the Poolbrook Road/Peachfield Road junction, lives in rather tatty isolation.

There must be others around the Hills that could be removed without too much fuss and thus provide a source of spares for the remaining groups.

In summary, we must retain these lamps but let there be some common sense with regard to numbers and locations.

If the balance is right then the maintenance cost will be offset by the attraction to visitors that these examples of bygone eras will continue to be.

PATRICK SKELTON, Britten Drive, Malvern.

MY company, Malvern Boilers Limited, are gas appliance manufacturers.

As part of our business we entertain visitors from the gas industry not only from the UK but also from the USA and the rest of Europe. I am always proud to be able to show them genuine working gas lamps in the Wells Road as this is one of the lovely unique features Malvern has.

At a time when we spend a premium on imitation Victorian street lights in places such as Barnards Green it seems illogical to be contemplating removing the real thing from other areas of the town.

The sale of gas lamps in the UK has been on the increase in recent years with their special lighting effect being appreciated. Malvern again seems to be behind the times in its action by proposing their removal.

CLIVE PERRY, Managing Director, Malvern Boilers Ltd, Spring Lane North, Malvern Link.

What is the Council doing? It appears to waste money hand over fist with questionable water features but cannot fund a genuine asset of the Malverns.

Many tourist locations would jump for joy to be able to feature such exquisite gas lamps as one of their selling points (not to mention their association to C S Lewis).

For goodness sake stop this shortsighted act of vandalism to even consider removing this part of our heritage.

Alec Beattie, Yates Hay Road, Malvern Link.

THE present labour intensive maintenance of Malvern's gas-lit street lamps is clearly not sufficient to ensure that all lamps can be kept in properly working order.

The choices are obvious, either convert all lamps to automatically switched electric lighting or scrap the lot. The selling rate for a lamp standard and lantern head is about £400 - a nice little earner which could help pay for the removal of dead elm trees which litter our roadsides.

D GASSON, Halfkey Road, Malvern.

n Editor's Note: Malvern Hills District Council is not proposing to get rid of the gas lamps, but to privatise their maintenance. Our fear is this will leave parish councils with a bill some may be unwilling to pay for what is, after all, sub-standard lighting.