IT has long been my experience that local councils get blamed for things over which they have little or no control.

Gary Yates (Bolton Evening News, January 9) demonstrates this.

On the Market Hall, the planning committee exercised its judgement. I happen to disagree with them, as I have done on many other issues, but they exercised an honest judgement and came to an honest conclusion.

On fortnightly bin emptying and on dangerous roads and footpaths, I agree entirely with him.

But as to the town centre playing second fiddle to Middlebrook, this is less clear. Even if you do not like the Market Hall proposals, and I dont, both they and the new Central Street development will mean a massive investment into the town centre; far more than is now going into Middlebrook.

And on public transport, in a deregulated environment, neither the council nor the Passenger Transport Authority or its Executive have any control over the bus operators.

They can, and do, just what they like.

The proposed super health centres are something else again. I have experienced a range of provisions.

My present practitioners do their own ECGs, but send you to the hospital for blood tests. A previous practitioner did neither, and sent me to the hospital for both, but was otherwise a good practice. Some larger practices do their own blood tests, and so on.

Peter Johnston Kendal Road Bolton