TONY Kelly's letter about regulations and red tape (HAS, Dec 15) strikes a chord with which many of us would be in tune.

Regulation can stifle and suppress business opportunities and I would support the tenet of his argument that small businesses can produce good quality and provide customer satisfaction.

In my village there is ample evidence to support this and I am sure that they do suffer the paperwork overload that, for some, has led to closure.

I wrote in HAS recently of the need for a more balanced and realistic approach to regulation. It needs to provide safeguards in a number of areas for everyone - customer, supplier and retailer - but the process should not be cumbersome.

Enterprise in whatever form should be encouraged, particularly in communities which would prefer to support "home grown" produce and businesses that provide services close to home that support the local economy.

Like Mr Kelly, I would also prefer to abandon the larger supermarkets where choice does not always provide quality. But, of course, there is a trend that is difficult to change - shopping in the "all-in-one" or "onestop"

shop.

Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe, Durham.