I THINK Cllr Bird has completely missed the point of the letter suggesting free parking for the town. It’s not about rewarding car drivers!

Yes, all council tax payers would pay for such a scheme, not just those who can afford to drive a car, but the same could be said of any service the council provides.

I don’t use the buses, but part of my council tax went towards paying for the ridiculous bus station. I have friends without children, but they still have to contribute towards the education system.

Sorry, Cllr Bird, that is the way society works. If we only paid for the things we use, then the “people with money”, as she calls them, would probably be much better off than they are now.

The point about free parking is that it would encourage more people to come into the town and, for a relatively small per capita cost, that would lead to greater spending in the town centre shops, which in turn would lead to more and better shops, all of which would contribute higher payments through business rates to the council, benefiting ALL council tax payers.

However, without regulation, the car parks would just fill up with town centre worker’s cars. It would be better, in my opinion, to offer up to one hour’s free parking. Timed tickets issued at the entrance to the car parks and payment before you exit (or not if under 60 minutes) could make this possible without too much trouble or cost.

This is not the first time that Cllr Bird has said something rather silly in the letters page of this newspaper that demonstrates ignorance on matters which are vital to the economic regeneration of this town.

So perhaps now has come the time for her to retire from her position as councillor this coming May?

Dr Bob Roberts Millway Road