SIR: Just when it was considered the madness of closing Hyde Street to through traffic couldn't get any worse, it has. The city council in their infinite wisdom having implemented the scheme without consulting anyone, could not have been too surprised that a rat run had been created along Hyde Church Lane between Hyde Street and Worthy Road. So their answer to this is now to close Hyde Church Lane to through traffic. This is a narrow lane but it was possible to remain socially distant if passing pedestrians kept to their respective sides of the roadway. Not anymore, as the barriers the council have put in place now reduce the lane's width in places to around five feet, so people can no longer pass each other and remain distanced, without waiting for one or the other to clear the obstacle. So on one hand the council wish to support social distancing yet on the other they are quite content to bring in measures that preclude it.

It is also now fair to say with traffic levels beginning to return to more normal levels, the predicted gridlock is now being observed in Jewry Street. This will only get worse and in time Winchester will no doubt be at a standstill. So once again inconvenience and delay is being caused to those who try and travel within the city. The great shame of it all is the measures put in by the council do not seem to have any merit and are really achieving nothing in helping people to go about their everyday lives.

Richard Hall,

King Alfred Place,

Hyde,

Winchester