WE write with reference to Adrian Webb-Davies’ letter (I will not pay to park outside my own house, March 12) It is a pity that the organisers of the meeting held in January in Leominster did not invite county councillors or officers to clarify the situation.

Since Herefordshire Council introduced parking charges in all car parks in Leominster, there have been complaints that residential streets have been filled with extra cars.

Residents in many areas have requested the introduction of parking permits on their streets.

Westfield Walk is often used as a rat run as vehicles try to avoid the traffic lights at the bottom of Bargates, and frequently becomes dangerously congested, as buses, ambulances and other large vehicles are unable to get through, due to inappropriate parking, often by patients who have nowhere else to park when attending the doctors' surgeries.

Residents are often unable to access their own drives.

When Balfour Beatty traffic engineers considered the situation, they proposed waiting restrictions along parts of Westfield Walk, Bargates and Ryelands Road to avoid any knock-on effect of traffic moving from one street to another.

They proposed to relieve the congestion on all three streets, and to prioritise parking for residents, through the parking permit scheme. This works well in many places, including Hereford.

Your correspondent is quite right that unsuitable development has added to the problems, but now we must do the best we can to ensure the safety of residents and others using this road.

CLLR JENNY BARTLETT AND CLLR FELICITY NORMAN Leominster