COLEFORD in the Forest of Dean is a small Market town trying to survive in this harsh economic climate and contrary to helping the many small shops and businesses there our district council seems hell bent on destroying Coleford and turning it into a ghost town.

The first nail in the coffin of Coleford, and probably a few other Forest towns is the introduction of parking charges which will 'drive' a lot of people away.

Historically the council seems to have given approval to only a few types of shops/businesses and this has meant that there is no variety in the town.

I know that other nearby towns charge for parking but, if you have a diverse selection of shops to visit, paying a nominal charge is acceptable.

A straw pole of local shopkeepers has shown that all those asked are against the move and are fearful for their survival.

An on-spec survey of customers in my shop has returned that a lot of passing trade would be lost as people would rather travel to somewhere with free parking even if it costs more in fuel than just popping into Coleford.

The other consideration is that the only parking available to visit the doctor's surgery would also be Pay & Display making doctor visits time limited/dependent.

These charges were imposed even though all the so-called public meetings were whole-heartedly against them.

As a small shopkeeper in Coleford I feel that the charges will not generate as much revenue as needed as the car parks will not be used sufficiently and there might even be a loss in revenue when some small businesses close.

The only sign of any regeneration in Coleford over the last year has been the proposed application by Tesco to open a new purpose built store in the town.

This development has created, perversely, a lot of local approval, even among some local shopkeepers, and would have given, at least a little, variety to the available establishments in Coleford.

The latest design, although modern and aesthetically pleasing was refused planning by the district council as being out of character with the town.

There are other much more obtrusive structures which have been approved.

The refusal of this project is a great blow for jobs in this area of high unemployment.

Jobs would be created not only during construction, but afterwards in Tesco itself.

The district council seems to have ridden roughshod over the wishes of both the town council and a lot of the local residents and businesses.

Isn't it about time that councillors took notice of the people that elected them, otherwise they will find themselves on the ever lengthening list of the unemployed?

Claire Hilgart

Coleford Computers