News about the trouble at NCP car parks should be ringing very loud alarm bells for our council and businesses in the town centre.

The gradual removal and closure of the majority of surface level car parks in the area was an obvious push by the council to force motorists to use multi storey car parks yet they seemed to ignore the fact that many people’s perception of multi storey car parks is that they are lonely and unsafe.

On a recent trip to the town centre with my elderly mother I very nearly abandoned our journey as I realised that the car park behind Mcdonald’s had closed down, Le Mans Crescent was full of parked cars and I didn’t fancy parking somewhere on the edge of town.

It made me start to wonder whether it’s really necessary to visit there anymore. If the council continues trying to "corral" motorists into a handful of car parks then I would prefer to go elsewhere.

M Kozlowski