Eastbourne’s parking fees need to be cut, not raised

Seagull in Eastbourne Car Park (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-171201-003904008

“I cannot believe it!” Becky Shaw, top officer, East Sussex Council, granted £31,600 increase.

This takes her salary to £231,600, a 15.5 per cent addition, more pay than our Prime Minister with many more widespread duties.

Now, one way to help fund this handout is to punish the motorist yet again, more parking charges, and blame the Air Quality.

As I near 92, I have never experienced during my life so much nonsense that is now presented to the general public. Our arrival in Eastbourne in 1992 allowed us to have very enjoyable days visiting the shopping centre.

Since then I can recall 28 outlets have closed, no doubt there may be others.

Four building societies, two banks, main post office, one pub in the Arndale Centre which had an excellent bar menu, and 21 store and retail shops, some of which presented high quality stock.

Nothing of note has taken their place, cheap poor quality appears to be the ongoing trend.

This year most elderly residents will possibly have a four per cent pension increase, sadly this will be badly affected by the rates increase of roughly £5 a month plus the indicated TV licence cost of a possible £12 a month or more, and obvious other household increases.

Now when we need to use our cars to shop and bring life to our shopping centre, East Sussex Council has this quite pointless parking meter increase, even knocking the residents permit with a 67 per cent increase as well.

Be thankful for Eastbourne’s air quality, many of my age had to put up with smog (thick fog) on school journeys, sooty handkerchiefs, soot in the eyes if you opened the train window, steam delivery vans and lorries.

It might be more helpful if the East Sussex Council assessed the problems of air pollution should one of the French nuclear power stations on their coast explode.

In the meantime, cut parking fees and encourage people and cars into the town of Eastbourne, the shops need them, business needs them and the hotels need them.

Maybe we do not need East Sussex Council.