Bypass anniversary: Your views

Dave Chapman, Chapman's Butchers.

"For us it's been very good. We've noticed a marked increase in business over the last year. On a Friday afternoon we would quieten down because people couldn't get to us. But now we're busy until closing time."

James Campbell, 25, an office manager in Baldock, from Leys Avenue, Letchworth GC.

"It's certainly quieter. It's a lot easier to pull out of the car park and there are empty spaces.

"There's a lot of old folk around so it's easier for them to cross."

John West of Baldock Hardware.

"It has affected trade, but you have to take into account that retail generally is in a poor state in the UK. It's taken lorries out of the town most of the time, but it's that quiet out there you could do an Irish jig in the middle of the road! Some shops that have closed have managed to be the wrong shop, in the wrong town, at the wrong time. But I don't think the bypass has helped."

John Jones, 87, Magdalene Court, Royston Road.

"It has relieved a lot of the traffic, in the High Street particularly. Down at the traffic signals at the railway station it has really altered the direction of the traffic flow and more are coming along the A505 than there used to be. In general the atmosphere of the High Street has improved significantly. It's more pleasurable to walk around now."

Daryl Stanley, 41, of Plough Close, Steeple Morden, used to own EZ CCTV across the road from the hardware store in Baldock, now owns a business in Letchworth GC.

"The bypass wasn't the only reason we moved out but it was a nuisance. There's not so much traffic coming through, but it's not as good for business."

Claire Stanley, 45, Plough Close, Steeple Morden.

"In Ashwell some shops have noticed a drop off in trade because people used to go through the village, but now they go down the bypass.