AS IT seems inevitable that the Forest of Dean Council is going to implement car parking charges in Coleford, and although I do realise that revenue has to come from somewhere, I do not think that this is the right timing. Small businesses and the people who work in them are the ones that will suffer.

I have to drive to work as I live in Ellwood which is not on a bus route. I earn just above minimum wage as a part-time sales assistant in a shop in town and parking charges would take approximately 15 per cent of my net wages and when you take that the cost of actually getting from Ellwood to Coleford takes another 15 per cent of my wages will it be worth working?

I really can't see people paying to park for 10-15 minutes while they pop into the shops in town to buy everyday basic items, like bread, milk, newspapers etc therefore, once again, supermarkets will be the winners with their free car parking. Even out of town corner shops will be more lucrative. I am sure that I am not the only person to feel this way.

– Name and address supplied, Ellwood.