ANGRY demonstrators who gathered on Monday night outside Lydney Town Council's meeting about parking charges have vowed to step up their battle on all fronts.
Included in their plans are stepping up a poster campaign and holding a mass demonstration at the Forest District Council offices, where the next meeting on the issue has been pencilled in for November 9.
"We are stepping up activities on all fronts to show our disgust for the council's plan," said leading campaigner Gerald Biddle of Posh Nosh in Lydney.
Mr Biddle was one of six protesters who attended the Lydney meeting and read a statement urging the town council to send the district a firm 'no' on the proposal to start charging at formerly free car parks in Forest towns.
Outside the building a large crowd of fellow traders and members of the public had gathered to register their objections to the plan, the traders fearing that charges will be an additional burden on already 'fragile' business prospects.
The town council discussed a proposal to ask the district authority to defer a decision on the plans, which planning and leisure chief councillor Frank Williams thought would "go ahead whatever the town council said".
Cllr Mike Green urged more time to explore the "problematic ownership" of the Newerne Street car park which looked as if it had been a donation to the town by John Watts in the 1950s – this at one time had stopped development plans by businessman Clive Bath, so why was it all right for the council to assume ownership now, he asked?
Cllr Green put down an amendment to the deferral proposal that charging should not be allowed, which was carried.
The protesters are also urging people to write to the Forest council about the charges and plan to hold public meetings on the issue in Cinderford, Coleford and Newent soon.
No dates as yet have been fixed for the meetings or the mass demonstration.