I ASSUME that the installation of the ticket machines at the car parks at Link Top, together with their maintenance and repair plus the cost of resurfacing and of checking the car park will be more than outweighed by the revenue produced by the cars which park there.

It may however take some years to balance the books in this respect as today (Friday, June 15) at 1pm, there were three cars in the larger car park and one car in the smaller car park. Newtown Road, however, was fully occupied by parked vehicles.

It does seem to me to be a very blinkered attitude to make these two car parks pay and display. I park regularly on the larger car park, which was frequently full. Where are those cars going to park now? On the road quite obviously.

Apart from the inconvenience and potential danger, which this causes, the shops in Newtown Road are bound to be seriously affected by a reduction in trade. Nobody in their right mind is going to pay whatever it costs for parking for five or ten minutes while they pop into one of the shops. They will go elsewhere.

The only advantage seems to be that the larger car park is now an excellent skateboard rink, being fully occupied by young people on skate boards - fine, but not very helpful for shoppers and shops.

In general, I think that the council does quite a good job, but sometimes the lack of foresight in matters such as these is almost beyond belief.

M H DOWNS, Woodbury Rise, Malvern.