Recently I read your article outlining possible cut backs the district council may make to balance its books.

Amongst others they included closing the public toilets and increasing parking fees.

Does anyone who works for the council ever venture down Bromsgrove High Street? If they did then they would find a high street in demise. Since the closure of Dixons a few years back the High Street has gone into decline.

There are plenty of financial institutions and estate agents, but too many mobile phone, card and charity shops giving no real choice for the shopper.

There is very little to attract potential new businesses to the High Street and, let's face it, at the moment with quite a few 'To Let' signs over a number of High Street properties, attract we must do!

My business, although relatively small, is now entering its tenth year of trading and, like many others, just managing to keep its head above water.

Imagine how I felt when the council decided that my business rates alone were not enough to cover my refuse collection and that I would incur an extra charge of £50 per 50 bin bags,(about three months' worth), to have my waste disposed of.

Something must also be done about the amount of so called charitable organisations who walk the street. People are being harassed on a daily basis while going about their shopping and people who work in town who have to go out for their lunch aren't able to get any peace even when on a lunch break.

Why would anyone with transport choose to shop in Bromsgrove when places like Merry Hill offer more choice, free parking, a place to relieve oneself and harassment-free shopping.

I fear that this council will probably walk down our High Street in about five to ten years' time when most of the properties will be closed, covered in bill posters and grafitti.

The High Street is the hub of our community. It's dying, but is not dead. Help save it by looking ahead, not by balancing the books.

A concerned trader