LYN Callow and the Lydney traders made it clear in last week's Review article that the fight should be to 'get the (parking) charges removed'. However, it is clear that behind the scenes the District Council is up to its old tricks again.

Whether or not we believe that by extending the 20p parking charge to cover two hours instead of one, regular shoppers will be lured back to the forest towns and away from the free parking they now enjoy elsewhere, it certainly won't bring back the free parking spaces needed by disabled, elderly and vulnerable people needing access to the doctors surgery or their homes.

This, and other possible 'deals' with the council provide a convenient smoke screen for what is at the heart of the issue: a rotten and inadequate consultation process, a rotten cabinet system at local government level, and a council whose policies of short term gain are ignoring the devastating cost to the towns of the Forest of Dean in the long term.

The parking management scheme would never have been introduced in the first place if the Council had followed the proper consultation pro­cess or done its sums, and should now be removed completely from

the Forest's non commercial, financially vulnerable towns and com­munities.

Anyone who has suffered from the loss of access to their home, or who now find shops or doctors surgery too expensive or difficult to manage as a result of the car parking scheme, can feel free to contact us so we can lobby the council and the government on your behalf, at http://www.handsoffourtowns.co.uk">www.handsoffourtowns.co.uk. Our website will be live anytime in the next week.

– G. Blakey, (Hands off our Towns).