SIR – Recently I had a wonderful dream. My wife and I found ourselves in a traditional stone-flagged market with rows of stalls selling fresh meats, fish and vegetables. There were stalls on the periphery selling fancy goods, fabrics and hardware. The helpful assistants and polite congeniality of fellow customers rekindled memories of days gone by.

A nearby archway opened on to a large square surrounded by a beautifully-preserved 18th-century stone building, the lower tier of which was tastefully converted into shops and cafes with people at tables chatting over teas and coffees, enjoying the late autumn sunshine.

Deciding on lunch, we found an immaculate glass-roofed arcade nearby with more shops and cafes. Strategically-placed flowers with benches to rest on – pure tranquillity in the town centre and not a bulldozer in sight… Oh dear! ‘waking’ abruptly, I realised we were in the centre of Halifax, a short bus ride from our beloved Bradford! Is there a moral here?

Following emotional disharmony between groups in our city, perhaps by preserving the character and not destroying the irreplaceable heritage of our city, much-need feelings of pride and well-being might be returned to the public, banishing blind-alley uncertainty many feel in the current situation?

Keith Sivyer, Dalecroft Rise, Allerton