THESE new plans from the Green Adminustration will only see the expansion of free parking in some car-parks by an additional 30 minutes. This is coupled by a 200 per cent rise in the price of a 2-hour ticket and a 100 per cent rise in the price of a 3-hour ticket.

Although these increases are slightly less than those proposed by the Greens late last year they will still have the same effect, disincentivising visits to our town centres, impacting on small business and pushing motorists to park elsewhere causing obstruction, adding to congestion and impacting parochially on Lydney’s air quality management concerns.

Recently, I chaired a seven hour Budget Scrutiny Meeting at county council where openness transparency and detail were in abundance.

Sunday afternoon and turning my attentions to the proposed Forest of Dean Green Budget and specifically car-parking I endeavoured to seek detail.

For example: There is no mention of how the time periods will be “policed” in the Forest wide area, the cost of “policing”, collection costs etc etc.

In fact there is absolutely no definitive financial detail on anything.

Where is the business plan? I even rang colleagues just to check that I wasn’t missing anything – sorry guys for bothering you on a Sunday afternoon, but thanks for confirming my fears.

I voted against the introduction of car-park charges in the Forest when they were first introduced I will not be adding to the congestion by doing a U-turn, or defying logic and common-sense.

Cllr Alan Preest, Lydney.