Caroline Skinner, of Britannia Avenue, Dartmouth, writes:

I am writing about South Hams Council wishing to reduce permit parking.

I am strongly against the council’s proposed plan to limit the amount of commuters’ parking permits. I feel that it has not made these proposed plans widely know.

I have a commuter’s permit pass that I renewed early this January and I feel that the district council could have put a letter in with my pass when it sent it out to me and could have informed me of the ­proposed changes – it has all our addresses and so could have informed us all.

I was only made aware of these proposed changes via a friend’s comment on Facebook late last week and then two articles in both the Kingsbridge & Salcombe Gazette and Dartmouth Chronicle. Those who do not purchase these papers would never know.

With a permit pass we have no need to use the pay-and-­display machine as we have paid for our annual pass and we place our passes in our vehicles, so many commuters would have not seen the council’s notice that was put up at the pay-and-display machine.

I was talking to a few fellow commuters in the car park we use, asking them how they felt: many of them didn’t know ­anything about any proposal changes, while a few others said they were confused on what it meant. How can this be fair notice for those who need it the most if many of commuters know nothing about it?

Many surrounding villages rely upon the town for ­employment and they know all too well the need for their own transport.

We are a team of eight where I work and only two of our team members live within the town, with the rest of us ­driving into Kingsbridge from surrounding villages.

I was told by a council representative that commuters will still be able to purchase their passes for as long as they need them, and I hope this is a long-term arrangement; but South Hams Council is hoping to reduce the number of permits to only 10 per cent, which means that Lower Union Road, where I park, will be reduced to fewer than 10 spaces for permit holders and I counted 20 cars with them one evening. Where will we all go ?

It will push commuters out onto neighbouring housing estates to park, and that is not fair on townspeople at all.

I do understand that ­shoppers need parking, as do visitors, but businesses need staffing and unfortunately this means there will be a large majority of people who have to travel in for work who also need affordable all-day parking.

A reduction to just 10 per cent – that’s 37 spaces in total for commuters between two car parks, according to the news­paper article, and in my ­opinion this is ridiculous and surely needs rethinking.