Your readers might wish to know that Devon County Council is once again discussing the idea of placing parking meters in Tavistock and Okehampton, along with other areas in the county.

It seems that this time the feedback to the county council will primarily be through your county councillors and as this is Conservative policy to put them in place with no local Conservative councillor voting against the idea in August last year I can imagine that the result will be that our streets will be blighted.

If you thought that you had lobbied successfully against parking meters, well you did but now that the local elections are over we have lost our leverage. The final decision was deferred until the elections were done and dusted.

If you, like myself, feel that the introduction of parking meters is a monstrous intrusion that we can well do without, make your views clearly known to your county councillor in writing. Nothing works better than a sack full of mail lobbying on a single issue.

Interestingly, it is illegal for councils to gather revenue through parking or parking fines, under the Road Traffic Act 1984 and decided by the High Court in the case of Cran Vs Camden Council 1995.

If those who do not wish to have parking meters scarring our towns do not lobby their county councillor and the parking meters appear, there will be no room for complaint. There is very little time to spare as the decision will be made soon.

Independent town councillors like myself have little sway when the battleships of the established parties set sail, only the voice of the voters holds any sway. Write to your county councillor with your views.

Interestingly, the parking meters have already been bought, they were purchased by the county, using your money, before the decision was made to implement the use of them.

They clearly decided, perhaps in smoke filled rooms, to make the decision to implement them before all county councillors voted on the issue. Call me cynical, but this has the appearance of arrogance.

Brian A A Trew

Tavistock Town Cllr councillor (Independent) (South Ward)