IT seems to me that South Lakeland District Council has only one course of action over New Road at Kendal.

Once a danger to the public is identified the council must act to remove the hazard, so its hands are tied and it has done what it had to do.

However, what is in question is the future, and to my mind the only option is to deregister the land as a common and develop it in a sustainable and useful way.

That ought to include safe car parking, as well as environmental improvements.

Until the land is deregistered it will remain an inflexible burden on the council and won't be put to the best possible use, in the best interests of the town. Ideally, the high stone walls should be removed and replaced with stepped access to the river's edge - something sadly lacking in our particular town but prolific elsewhere in Britain.

David C. Smith

Kendal