The suggestion by Peter Smith of a refurbishment of Rose Bank Gardens in Great Malvern has a great deal to recommend it and the scheme he outlines is persuasive.

It is also a scheme whose time has come as it could slot in nicely with other developments, both current and in the pipeline, in the vicinity.

Getting a car park at the top end of town has already been achieved with the opening of the area behind Belle Vue Terrace and there is already a scheme well in hand for major work to St Ann's Well gardens, which will hopefully increase the attraction of that most useful entry point to the Malvern Hills.

There are also plans on paper to do a great deal more with the current Post Office site just below Belle Vue Terrace. Alistair Macmillan, in his letter on this page, refers to discussions over encouraging a restaurant to set up as part of a wider scheme for the building.

It is not so long ago that Malvern Hills District Council carried out a major scheme on Belle Vue Terrace, including two water features and the statue of Sir Edward Elgar. A statue of George Bernard Shaw at the other end of the terrace has also been canvassed in the past.

Mr Smith's suggestion for public art, in the shape of sculpture by Walenty Pytel, whose skill can be seen on the riverside at Ross-on-Wye, would fit in very well with the approach already taken.

Public art at tax-payers' expense has proved controversial in the recent past and it is perhaps as well that Mr Smith also has a radical idea for how this project might be approached.

In short, innovative thinking is always welcome and we look forward to hearing an official response to this intriguing idea.