IF the coach drivers are going to use Britford park and ride, why would the coach tour passengers not come into the centre of Salisbury on the park and ride buses?

We don’t understand why locals are expected to use park and ride if it’s not good enough for tourists. This is an opportunity to rid Salisbury’s city centre of oversized coaches by using the park and ride system, which is already in place with plenty of unused capacity.

Brown Street car park, right, is highly valued by local shoppers because it is about as far as many people are prepared to walk carrying shopping. An end to Brown Street car parking would be another nail in the coffin of Salisbury as a shopping and market town.

Sacrificing regular local yearround shoppers in a fanciful attempt to lure tourists to linger longer is a poor deal for people who live here, attempt to earn a living and provide much needed employment for others.

The Salisbury Vision team may think Brown Street car park to be a great place for coaches, but who is looking out for the local people who think Brown Street car park is a great place for them?

Salisbury Vision says there is plenty of space in Culver Street, but that is because people don’t want to use it. Take away Brown Street and more people will find Salisbury an unattractive proposition and will stay away.

The Vision wants extra coach parking for the Magna Carta celebrations - they’ve got it using Salisbury park and ride.

We urge you not to trial this concept - shoppers will be lost, more shops will close and, once lost, the shoppers probably won’t come back.

Norman Hughes, Salisbury

GIVEN that we are going to lose the ideally-placed coach station at Millstream Approach, Salisbury is going to have to put up with coaches squeezing through the narrow city streets to find some other place to drop off and pick up.

But wait a minute - we have buses (some larger than coaches) already doing this, so are a few more going to make that much difference?

And, come to that, what's wrong with the old abandoned bus station as a coach park - then Brown Street can carry on doing what it's good for - parking cars.

Don't tell me - Wiltshire Council has already agreed to sell it off for housing.

Now where have I heard that one before?

Jeremy Court, Salisbury 

THE current coach station in Millstream Approach has a short relatively direct approach from Churchill Way, toilets and a café, Brown Street has none of these on offer at present. Please rethink.

True the size could be improved - I counted more than 20 coaches at time - the café and toilet could be upgraded, and perhaps the bridge could be widened too as part of Maltings development.

One suspects part of the motive to develop coach parking in Brown Street stems from the disastrous waste of money on Culver Street, which is rarely used even when it is free.

Jim Radford, Salisbury