AS an OAP struggling to run a 10-yearold car, Iheartilysupport the pleaof the Older People’s Forum for realistic parking prices in Bromsgrove.

I often visit Market Drayton, a town like Bromsgrove, with only two empty shops and a vibrant street market - far more bustling and busy than Bromsgrove.

On-street parking is free in Drayton for 30 minutes, meaning you can pop into the bank, chemist or newsagent without the privilege of paying for parking.

I use Bromsgrove Library because of the free parking, but the new library building will only provide free parking after 4pm. Living south of Bromsgrove, it will be better to use my bus pass to visit Droitwich Library, and do my shopping there.

The forum estimates that 36p of every £1 taken in parking fees subsidises other council services, meaning parking charges in Bromsgrove could be artificially inflated.The£1.20 ticket, for example, could cost around 80p. It also means that motorists who think are only paying for parking could unwittingly pay for other council services, including those drivers from outside the area who are not Bromsgrove Council taxpayers.

A recent High Court decision made it illegal for councils to use on-street parking charges for any other purpose, and it is high time that all parking fees were ring fenced, and not used to subsidise whatever the council decides it should be spent on.That would surely be more democratic.

Fed Up Bromsgrove OAP