I GUESS Ian Allen would have had rather too much explaining to do to us poor benighted tax payers if he had allowed local Liberal Democrats to support the Conservatives new car park suggestion near the railway station. After all, thanks to him and his cr

I GUESS Ian Allen would have had rather too much explaining to do to us poor benighted tax payers if he had allowed local Liberal Democrats to support the Conservatives' new car park suggestion near the railway station. After all, thanks to him and his cronies - wanna-be MP, Simon Higginson, in particular - we had to decline a £3million Government grant to help fund an even larger park-and-ride facility and new business park: The latter was set to bring 1,000 new jobs to the town.

The Lib Dems are keen on the rail company's offer to add another deck to the station car park and I can see the sense in this. However, the deal as it stands may not appeal to many taxpayers. Some of us may wonder why we should be asked to fork out £700,000 to help a private railway company fleece us all with hefty car park charges over which the council will have no control.

Furthermore, our £700,000 will only be buying 120 extra spaces - just twice as many as we could have had if the Lib Dems had not vetoed the cathedral's offer to extend Broad Street car park. Remember how that opportunity for 60 more, very cost effective, free car parking spaces in the city centre bit the dust after another grossly misleading media campaign instigated by Ian Allen and his fellow opinion manipulators.

JACKIE PETTS

Prickwillow

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