car parking charges and permits in Bromsgrove are to be examined as part of an overall review.

The move follows complaints from the public after the district council increased parking permit charges for the 60 to 64 age group and slapped a £30 fee on disabled drivers and those over 65 who had previously enjoyed free parking. Details of the proposed increases were published by the Advertiser/Messenger in the winter when the council began setting its budget. But the complaints didn't start to fill our letters pages until last month when people realised that they faced stiff increases. In a bid to explain the reasoning behind the rises the authority has recently held meetings with organisations representing the elderly and disabled.

At the latest, which was held at the Council House last Wednesday, council leader Roger Hollingworth (Con-Alvechurch) said the decision had been difficult. But he explained that the authority's finances were in such disarray following years of indifferent management that the cabinet felt the pain of making the books balance should be spread across the whole of the community.

He said the feed-back from meetings has been very positive. In the light of this it has now been decided to hold a complete review of parking in the district to look at among other factors charges, times and any dispensations or indeed if fees should be scrapped altogether to encourage shoppers and visitors to Bromsgrove.

However, with car park fees amounting to something like £1,344,000 a year, it is unlikely the council will look favourably on any scheme to significantly reduce that figure.

Cllr Hollingworth said that without the parking revenue and with the government's capping of the council tax the only way savings could be made would be to axe non-essential services.

Meanwhile the Labour group claims that its district-wide campaign to get the fees returned to pre-May 1 levels has been a big success. It proposes to compile a report to urge the council to rethink its policy.