REGARDING the proposed car parking charges in Darwen, I shop in Darwen and Accrington and find the disc scheme in Accrington is excellent and the availability of free parking in Darwen is a consideration in my shopping theme.

I have recently moved to the area from Bournemouth where we endured charges of 50p per hour during the winter and up to £1 per hour during the summer for parking in order to shop.

Be warned -- this proposal could be the thin edge of the wedge to earn even more money from the motorist in the local area.

There, out-of-town supermarkets with free parking reign supreme, indeed, in Bournemouth town-centre there is not one grocer, butcher, or any other food outlet to be found. Nearby Poole has only one butcher and one grocer left and I know they find life difficult.

These Bournemouth and Poole town centres revolve around swanky clothes shops and evening entertainment, not local specialist food purveyors which I, personally, adore.

Local economy and 'the small buy' are very often taken for granted until they are lost.

S BARNES, Meadowside Avenue, Oakenshaw, Clayton-le-Moors.