I ALWAYS took great pleasure seeing so many people, especially the elderly, using the seating in the Hardshaw Shopping Centre as a place to sit and chat without having mobile phones as the only means of communication.

Do the authorities who decided to remove this facility not realise that not everyone wants to sit in the pub all day to be able to meet other people?

To walk through the centre without seeing those seats crowded with people was an awful sensation.

As I walked further on I came to Church Square where there must have been 30 to 40 youngsters some with skateboards but most of them just sat there having conversations.

It raises the question: Do the older generation not qualify for the same pleasure of sitting on some benches.

Surely it’s obvious that as well as sitting in the area they would be doing their shopping there. I must point out that the young people using the seating were not causing any problems to others, just enjoying each other’s company as did the elderly in the shopping centre.

We read in the papers about the problems for some who find it hard to meet others without joining some form of club or going to the bingo. The seats were an easy way of meeting others and getting out for an hour or two.

What is going to happen to the space created?

Les Woods, Sutton