IT SEEMS beyond belief that West Devon Borough Council has appointed a car parking manager when staffing within the borough offices is well below the strength needed for the workload undertaken.

Might I suggest that those who make such decisions take time to be in the borough offices and see, over a period of time, what work is actually done by the staff? They might also take the trouble to discover whether there are any who have to work extra time to ensure that the borough operates at all, let alone operates smoothly.

One thing we, as council tax payers, do not need is another burden on our taxes to pay for an unnecessary appointment such as a car parking manager. Neither do we need the additional parking fees to discourage people from parking in the car parks instead of on the yellow lines and in the back streets.

Spend the money, including some of the contingency fund, on improving the staffing level within the council offices and it might be found that running the car parks could be done in conjunction with the duties of one of those employees. I cannot imagine that managing the borough car parks would be a full time job.

B W Salt

Cruets, The Village

Buckland Monachorum