Sir, – The conundrum being asked is will the new bypass be good or bad for Bedale?

Bedale Bypass is costing enough to build at £34 million plus £600,000 for the new car park. It better be good for Bedale otherwise it will be a strategic disaster of major proportions for a small town that needs all the help it can get.

So am I being negative? No, I'm suggesting now is the time for Bedale to seriously push forward some new initiatives to deal with the new Bedale when the bypass is up and running in 2016.

If nothing is done, Bedale could suffer the same fate of lots of other small towns and villages who suddenly find themselves suffering when people simply bypass them by and end up giving their hard-earned money to the next spot en-route.

The garage in Crakehall could be the first port of call after the bypass for petrol and if the pub in the same village started opening longer hours and served teas and coffees with cake etc.

Leyburn to its credit has come on leaps and bounds of late. Leyburn Council seems to have totally got its act together and maybe even relaxed their policy with regards to local pubs and cafes spreading their wings with regards outdoor seating areas.

Leyburn has now got a proper little outdoor European square vibe going on as more and more cafes and pubs decide to sell their wares outside.

However back to Bedale. Hopefully the new £600,000 car park will help. The coaches won't necessarily stop though if the High Street isn't worth visiting.

Is Bedale Council's strategic team looking at what changes might be done on the High Street to encourage those people to come in and spend money?

One example being the public houses and cafes of Bedale either have nil outside space on the High Street or in some instances very limited space.

Is there any alteration that could be made to allow an increase to this outside drinking/eating situation in Bedale?

It's the feel good factor that Bedale needs to search for and create. Yes it might involve losing a few roadside parking spaces but then again how many spaces will be needed if people stop coming into Bedale?

Galvin Carnley, Patrick Brompton