HINDSIGHT is meant to be, or so I thought, a most valuable asset. Quoted in a local newspaper on January 10, 2008, Mark Harper MP said: "To justify any move away from the status quo and introduce car-parking charges would require some compelling evidence of the benefit to Forest residents. I've looked carefully at all the information produced by the council so far but I don't see any benefit from this policy."

Three and a half years on I would seriously doubt that anything has changed – other than the council's insensitivity in attempting to put more pressure on small town centre businesses in these austere times.

In 2008 the council produced a document "Future Management of Car Parking" which in no way outlined a business case that would conceivably work. Subsequently the proposals at that time were aborted.

At the full council meeting on December 4, 2007, I asked the following question: "How much expenditure has been spent on the proposed introduction of car parking in the Forest of Dean?"

The answer was £36,098 (public servant costs £17,957, consultation costs £18,141). As you can see a significant amount of public money wasted on achieving absolutely nothing.

Now they want to repeat the exercise!

Believe me, there are many, many ways of saving money at Coleford without impacting on or penalising local businesses and people any further.

– Alan Preest, Bream.