A LETTER to the District Council regarding proposed parking charges for the Forest towns.

'Please Cllr Robinson, be open and honest. The proposed parking charges have absolutely nothing to do with non car users subsidising the car parks. The proposed charges are purely a revenue raiser to counter the shortfall in council income and the requirement to freeze the council tax. I don't use the public libraries, public transport (primarily because the system is so very poor) but I am quite happy to subsidise them, together with the arts, education etc, through my council tax. Perhaps Cllr Robinson considers it appropriate for users of hospital A&E departments to have to pay for the service! Were car parking charges mentioned at the last district council elections?

Let us examine the practicalities of parking charges. The aged, infirm and parents with young children will be penalised. Where a fit and healthy individual would be capable of rushing around and completing their shopping within one hour, an elderly or infirm person or a mother with young children would undoubtedly take longer and would probably require a two hour ticket. Is this really fair?

Examine the GP situation in Lydney where one GP surgery has its own car park and the second GP surgery is adjacent to the public car park. Is it fair that the sick should be penalised at all when attending the GP surgery?

Certainly it is discriminatory that some patients should have free parking while others have to pay. Let us also examine the situation where a patient has paid for one hour when visiting the GP surgery. As we all know, delays are frequent and unpredictable when visiting GP surgeries and could easily extend beyond the hour. Yet again the sick are penalised and risk a parking fine.

Many folk treat their Saturday morning shopping trip as a social occasion with the opportunity to have a chat with friends and acquaintances. This is particularly true for the elderly who have limited opportunities to get out and about. This social occasion will be no longer, due to the pressure of time and the risk of a parking fine. Perhaps this parking fee proposal could be considered anti-social!

What of the situation where the supermarket may be short-staffed and the queue of two or three customers at the checkout grows to seven to eight customers? Those delayed customers are really going to be happy at the thought of a parking fine through no fault of their own and one could envisage disgruntled customers venting their anger on the poor shop assistants.

What of a customer who wishes to just pop into the pharmacy to collect a prescription or to nip into the bank to withdraw cash? Having to pay for one hour of car parking is ludicrous! What better way could there be to deter shoppers coming to the towns?

Has Cllr Robinson and his cohorts considered the cost of repairs to vandalised machines, because as sure as night follows day, at some stage the machines will be vandalised? Perhaps the solution to this would be yet further expenditure to install CCTV cameras to monitor the pay and display machines.

Side streets in the towns will become alternative car parks creating problems for emergency service vehicles and residents. Undoubtedly the solution from the council will be even more double yellow lines, signage, enforcement officers and permits for residents. Yet further expenditure!

The supermarket car­parks will be overrun to the extent of queues stretching onto the main highways. Can this be acceptable or safe?

The supermarkets would then have to consider restricted parking and the cost of enforcement. What then for the harm done to customer relations?

The introduction of parking charges would undoubtedly be the thin end of the wedge. It is easy money!

This year 40p, next year 60p and son on. Before long it will be £1.40 and the trade will be finally killed off in much the same way that trade in Gloucester has died, where a major reason for the lack of trade is carparking fees. What happens when the council discover that the revenue raised does not cover the expenditure and in the meantime yet more small businesses have closed with the associated loss of business rates?

Rural folk already suffer with the high cost of motoring and the comparatively poor public transport system and this council wishes to put the boot in while the victim is down. Just because other towns charge for parking doesn't mean that it is right to charge in the Forest of Dean. Think again councillors.

Shop staff, the aged and infirm, mums with children and the sick, they will all suffer! And the motorist is punished yet again!'

– W.J.E. Yorkley