After our experience of last week I have to inform you that we will not be returning to Sudbury and the weekend celebration of four of our group's 60th birthdays over the next few months will instead bring revenue to a more worthy location.

Whilst the members of Babergh District Council may be congratulating themselves on how they have turned free parking into a revenue generation opportunity, I cannot share their pleasure and consider their scheme underhand and deceitful.

To require the display of a free parking ticket to indicate time of arrival, and hence the end of the free three hours, is perfectly logical.

However, to deliberately utilise the introduction of the new scheme to target unknowing, visiting drivers with £45 fixed penalty notices does not, to my thinking, demonstrate integrity or insight. There were no signs warning of the changes on the approach to the car park, at the entrance to the car park nor within the car park. There would be no reason to seek out such machines without there being a trigger provided by more visible notices.

Since the start of the arrangements around 60 to 90 motorists per day have been issued with fixed penalty notices, most not for abusing the free three-hour limit, but for not displaying the free ticket, my own heinous misdemeanour.

The impact of the lack of clear signage was brought to the attention of the district council but on my visit on September 3, no signs had been installed, and most importantly, from Day 1 of the new scheme the parking wardens were instructed to exercise no discretion whatsoever in applying fixed penalty notices and to target the most minor infractions.

Sudbury's economy is to some extent reliant on tourism, else why would there be a tourist information office? We are about to enter a recession where, traditionally, non-essential expenditure such as that used for tourism will reduce, and it is likely that jobs dependant upon this cash stream will disappear.

I would have thought that a sensible council would be putting its efforts into preserving its local economy, not actively discouraging tourists and their wallets from visiting, and hence harming its economy. But perhaps I just don't understand the country ways.



Mike Andrews

Outwood Common Road

Billericay