I SAT having a coffee in the Hardshaw Centre on Saturday and watched a number of elderly ladies just stop and sit for a while.
Thankfully the staff did not move them along because they hadn’t ordered a drink.
Maybe they couldn’t afford a coffee.
I heard one elderly lady say to another: “I’ve just had to stop for a breather, there is nowhere to sit down for a rest.”
The reason the seats were removed by the West Midlands-based owners was they said “research has shown customers prefer to have wide-open areas in which they can circulate freely”.
Now the wide open space has been filled with about eight or nine stalls which I have no objection to but their reason to move them was a poor excuse.
Perhaps the seating can return, after all there is a large wall in front of the empty M & S crying out to be filled.
Carol Southward, Haydock
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here