Dear Sir, It was refreshing to read Richard McComb – ‘Can we have more food?’ (Post March 11). So many times I lament about the lack of real food shops in the city centre and at the same time see rows of empty shops at every turn.

Several cities have turned such properties over to art galleries and charity shops but Richard’s suggestion that we actually make a clear link to the local producers in our region is simple direct and can only bring benefit to us all. It is so obviously a good idea I can’t think why it has taken so long for it not to have been done by all the quangos and consultants that seem to make such decisions. The food miles are clearly going to go down, our local growers can make direct contact with the consumer, the perishable food will be fresher and, most important of all, the character of the city centre can only be improved.

I make a point of not shopping in the “big four” supermarkets and use the Bullring market but it would be good to see a new tourist attraction emerge around food from the region. We have a Jewellery Quarter, why not a Midland food arcade or similar venture sponsored by the city council?

It would be far more environmentally friendly than the German market and create green jobs for the region.

Audrey Miller

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