SIR — In Winchester, signs have been erected declaring that “improvements to the footpaths in High Street are under way” and I’m sure most people are glad to hear that the sometimes dangerous paving is being replaced.

However, after observing that lower High Street had been cordoned off for repairs, I was horrified to see once the space had been re-opened that uneven paving had been replaced by strips of unsightly tarmac! Please, please reassure those of us that love ancient Winchester that this is only a temporary measure and not how it will look well into the future.

This and other streets so suffer from subsidence, but it cannot be beyond our skilled council engineers to find a solution that doesn’t leave the city looking like a patchwork of botched and unsightly tarmac droppings.

Paul Surridge, Chapel Lane, Otterbourne.