SIR – Bradford City Council, in its wisdom, imported a large number of traders into Shipley Marketplace recently, presumably because the Sunday was Mothering Sunday.

What was the thinking behind this when Shipley’s permanent traders are having a hard time in the present economic climate?

Surely the shopkeepers – and to a lesser extent the market traders who brave the vagaries of the weather throughout the year – deserve to benefit.

To bring in outsiders is depriving these shops and stalls of a much-needed boost to profits. There are already empty shops. Are we to see more?

May I remind Bradford Council that these people contribute handsomely to their coffers by paying their taxes. What a reward for this loyalty.

Margaret F Wilkinson, Fourlands Road, Idle