TRADERS in Link Top and Newtown Road have launched a petition against the proposal by Malvern Hills District Council to introduce charges on two car parks where parking has previously been free.

The financial pressures faced by the district council are there for all to see, but one suspects this measure, if agreed would create more problems than it would solve.

Although the proposed charges are relatively low - 30p for up to an hour and £1 for over two hours - experience shows drivers will do almost anything to avoid paying a charge, and particularly one they regard as unreasonable.

As ward councillor David Williams says, along Newtown Road the council should be looking at ways of getting cars off the road and this proposal is likely to achieve just the opposite.

Take the Victoria Road car park, for example. Since charges were introduced there, a previously busy car park is often virtually empty while the neighbouring roads are crammed with vehicles. One wonders whether the revenue derived by the council is really worth all the inconvenience to nearby residents?

And in the case of Newtown Road, the decision may effect the viability of a range of small businesses serving an important community role.

When councillors meet on Tuesday they should be asking themselves, does this add up?