Sir, - On behalf of Thirsk and Sowerby Civic Society, I am writing to express our deep concern about the proposed car parking charges that Hambleton District Council is proposing to levy.

This ill-advised proposal will have a significant impact on the economic prosperity of Thirsk, and will have consequences for the historic fabric of the town.

The town currently boasts an array of small shops housed in vernacular buildings.

Many of these will be threatened if their users choose to shop elsewhere, in out of town shops where parking is provided free of charge. If the small shops, and the pubs, bars and tea shops that support them, see a reduction in trade, then the use to which these buildings are put, many of which lie within a conservation area, will be called into question by their owners and occupiers.

Thirsk and Sowerby offer a refreshing alternative to the blandness and emptiness on offer in towns where a charge is levied. The market square of Thirsk is a valuable open space and is well used by locals and visitors. These people will be deterred by charges.

One further anxiety is the level of additional street furniture that will clutter the town.

We already suffer from an abnormal provision of signage, and these eyesores will be compounded by ticket machines.

The imposition of car parking charges is not a satisfactory solution to the district council's current revenue shortfall.

RORY WARDROPER Chairman, Thirsk & Sowerby Civic Society,