Better late than never, better never bus gate

Cllr David Cannon’s helpful explanation (Viewpoint, February 18) of the flexible terms on which resident-managed parking schemes can be absorbed into the RBWMrun scheme was welcome.

His letter suggests self-administered schemes were given a year’s grace to decide their future, but it was not until August 2020 that any of these schemes learnt of the proposals.

And why has it taken him another six months to respond to questions?

Certainly, our emails to him have gone unanswered.

Your news article of September 24, 2020 informed us that Cllr Cannon said ‘to make it simpler we would have (only) one system’.

But now his letter set out a variety of possible exceptions.

That doesn’t look like a standard system to me.

So if his intention is not just to raise revenue, why not allow neighbourhoods to continue to control and distribute their own permits?

At the time of writing I hear, from another source, that RBWM had set a deadline of Sunday, February 21 for neighbourhoods to make up their minds whether to become part of the RBWM scheme, or to abandon any parking controls.

Neither Cllr Cannon nor any RBWM

Officer has notified us of such a deadline.

Was it announced on Parler or Snapchat, perhaps?

Elsewhere you report that Cllr Gerry

Clark, commendably paid heed to the weight of public opinion and has abandoned the Shoppenhangers Road bus gate, observing ‘your Conservative-run council believes in democracy and will always listen to residents’.

If that is so, surely, we should expect the council to acknowledge the overwhelming wish of these parking schemes to retain their independence.

It is not yet too late.

DAVID SNELGAR Chauntry Road

Maidenhead