CLLR Allen believes that the Environment and Transport Committee, of which he is a member, has chosen the wrong car park charging plan for Ely (Letters Oct 1). What plan for charging? None was decided upon at that meeting, although Cllr Allen himself di

CLLR Allen believes that the Environment and Transport Committee, of which he is a member, has chosen the wrong car park charging plan for Ely (Letters Oct 1). What plan for charging? None was decided upon at that meeting, although Cllr Allen himself did recommend that charges should be introduced to pay for bus services - albeit without indicating just how high such charges would need to be to support set up costs, administration and policing - let alone the funding of a public transport scheme.

The meeting was not called to make any decisions, but merely to sanction a review of our entire car parking options - both charged for and free, off-street and on-street - ready for when responsibility for the latter passes over to the council from the police.

My recollection of previous assessments of car park provision leads me to believe that parking will continue to be a burden on the tax payer whatever we do. However, now that we have on-street parking control in our sights, the new review may well provide us with some alternative options to consider that will benefit trade and serve the best interests of residents, shoppers and visitors.

Perhaps a status quo will be recommended, or maybe a mixture of free and charged for spaces to encourage greater use of less popular car parks. Whatever the outcome, a Conservative council would never allow the plans that Cllr Allen and his Lib Dem colleagues seem to have in mind.

JACKIE PETTS

District Councillor (Ely East)