It used to be a lovely relaxing place to shop and do business. Now people are becoming nervous clock-watching wrecks.

When the regulations first came into force this summer, I found they made no difference to trade.

We had random occasional visits from traffic wardens. We never knew when they would swoop – which was deterrent enough.

Now they have become a constant daunting presence on our streets.
Times are hard enough for the business community and their customers at the moment. We don't need this added stress.

On Friday morning – usually one of the busiest in the week – I saw more cars ticketed outside my shop than I had customers through the door.

So what if someone stays in a space a bit longer than they should while they go about their business in the town? Better that, than they take their trade elsewhere – where they're less likely to incur a £30 fine.

Traffic wardens may be an unwelcome fact of modern life in our towns and cities, but in most places they are not so highly visible. With two or more patrolling all day every day around such a small town, the atmosphere in Uppingham has changed.

I accept that parking beyond the permitted time is an offence.
So is speeding, shoplifting, smoking inside public buildings, and a raft of other anti-social activities – but we don't see squads of police daily walking our streets to ensure no one transgresses.

I call on the council to take immediate action to extend one-hour parking to two hours throughout the town, to return to occasional rather than constant patrols by traffic wardens, to instruct them to cut us a bit of slack – and above all, to actually increase the number of long and short stay parking spaces in the town now, rather than just talking about it.

If you agree, please make your voice heard. If you disagree, please explain how such rigorous enforcement of parking restrictions is benefiting the town.

Brenda Howley
The Banyan Tree Too
High Street West,
Uppingham