Car park sell-off is just too stupid

I was interested to read your article on the proposed changes to parking in Canterbury (Scheme To Sell Off Car Parks Is ‘Not A Fully Fledged Idea’, Kentish Gazette, July 2).

I wonder where the council gets such bright ideas from?

Last night I drove into Canterbury to have a meal with friends. The Causeway car park was full as was North Lane. I would imagine Pound Lane was also full. We parked in St Radigunds and even then we were over at the back. This is usual if there is anything on at the Marlowe Theatre. We now have a superb, enlarged capacity theatre, among other attractions, and the council is considering restricting parking in the areas nearest to it?

If you follow traffic leaving the car parks after a show, many head out of Canterbury, so how would they visit if parking were restricted?

Surely we shouldn’t be looking at reducing people’s ability to come into the city.

If the council has seriously looked at this option, then they have wasted time and money that presumably they can’t afford to waste.

The quickest look at parking would have told them it was impractical without spending money on producing such plans that they themselves admit will probably never happen.

The council say the plans may be ‘too unpopular’. I would suggest the phrase would be ‘too stupid’. Craig Boorman Meadow Close, Chilham

As city centre residents with one on-street parking permit and one vehicle with an off-street parking permit, we are wondering how the city council proposes to accommodate residents like us as all they seem to be concerned about is

visitors to the city.

We pay a considerable amount yearly for the parking permits although they do not guarantee us a space. There doesn’t seem to be any proposals for parking of city centre residents as quite clearly park and ride services would not be suitable for us.

The council states the proposal is for selling of the car parks for re-development for housing etc, which would intern increase the volume of residents requiring spaces for additional vehicles that this would create, making parking spaces even harder to find for permit holders.

We have written in the past direct to the city council viewing our concerns, but to date have had no response.

Mr and Mrs Hammond

Hospital Lane, Canterbury