I READ with wry amusement that car parking charges are to go up in the three historical Dudley boroughs, and the excuse given by Councillor Angus Adams was that this would bring us into line with neighbouring local authorities by which he presumably means West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Birmingham; none of which have been blighted by Merry Hill.

He also re-floated the myth that Merry Hill will be introducing parking charges later this year.

We have been hearing this since 1997 but ten years on it still hasn't happened.

This week, less than a month later, Merry Hill announced that they would not be imposing parking charges until 2008, surprise, surprise!

In view of this will Councillor Adams now be announcing that Dudley's parking charges will not be going up? Until the miracle of Merry Hill parking charges happens, car parking charges in our town centres should be drastically reduced or better still withdrawn.

It almost seems that the council really wishes our three traditional town centres to go into terminal decline. Then presumably the council will be able to sell off the empty car parks to get rich quick' developers for yet more currently fashionable apartments destined to become the slums of the future.

Roger Bruton

Dudley