Sir, – The traders in Yarm who wish to increase the limit for daytime parking in the High Street from two to three hours (D&S, April 10) are short-sighted.

To tie up a space for an extra hour would have the effect of reducing total parking availability by up to a third at any given time, thus discouraging some people from visiting the town at all.

The traders’ claim that two hours is insufficient to allow people to do everything they want is spurious. I am not convinced that many people need, or even want, for example, to peruse a fashion house or department store, have lunch and visit the hairdresser all in one trip. And if they do, the options of taxis or frequent bus services are always there. Two hours is more than adequate for the normal needs of most people and ensures a fair chance of parking within the finite number of spaces.

Over 30 years ago the greed for council tax revenue by Stockton Borough Council, in allowing housing development on the old Skin Yard site, denied the town, irrevocably, the opportunity of a proper car park.

The price has been paid by traders and residents ever since.

At a meeting I attended with council representatives in the 80s concerning traffic congestion and car parking, an official stated that Yarm was the victim of its own success. That statement still holds good today and compromise must endure.

IAN GRAVESTOCK Goosepasture, Yarm.