SIR - You have to feel sorry for Arif Mehmood of the Smorgasbord Coffee Bar on Rawson Place, with Bradford Council refusing his application to install roller shutters despite him having suffered numerous break-ins over recent years (T&A, January 23).

Whilst the property is indeed in a conservation area, it seems to me that a modicum of common sense is lacking within the Council in this regard, and I fully support the T&A Editorial suggesting that the Council's stance should be softened.

Whilst the building would be shuttered in an evening and overnight, would this really matter when, during the day when most people might admire the conservation area and listed buildings, it would not be shuttered at all?

So, come on Bradford Council, some relaxation of this policy is surely obviously needed.

Bob Watson, Springfield Road, Baildon