THE AIR Festival urgently needs an upgrade, well overdue, to become a cycling festival.

The organisational basis and the civic pride in Bournemouth's history can be built on to bring this festival, admittedly 20 years late, into this century and make it something for everyone, young and old, businesses, residents and visitors.

If we are going to continue to attract people here to retire, we need to face up to the reality of our polluted towns and sort this out overnight.

No road is safe from the high pollution days which blight people living next to busy roads all the time, day and night. T

here is nowhere to run to any more for retirement now that Europe is no longer an option for sun and cheap prices.

We need to get cracking and clean the towns up, emptying the roads of cars and letting bikes use them safely again.

Fifty years of cars taking over the roads is quite long enough.

As an air festival celebrating flying, Bournemouth's image comes across as backwards, stuck in the mud and unimaginative in this day and age.

We need vision and leadership to bring the entire conurbation up to scratch.

Susan Stockwell

Poole