VISITORS to Whalley will be relieved by your report 'Pay and display to end car park chaos - brewery steps in to solve motorists' problems,' (LET, September 4).

Whitbread's proposal for this parking scheme is to be welcomed and their public spirit in making the car park available must be commended.

In question is the role of Ribble Valley Council, whose duty to their ratepayers to provide parking facilities seems to have been neglected.

Whitbread's proposal does not absolve the council from their obligation because, clearly, in this ever-growing community, additional parking space will have to be found.

Your caption to the photograph refers to 'angry shopkeepers.' I find this puzzling: your report of August 6 tells of an earlier attempt by the council to find a solution but 'traders bombarded them with letters objecting to the proposed pay and display scheme.'

And Chris Sullivan, of Whitbread's, is quoted: "We wanted to stop the facility from being abused by people parking all day" - obviously not visitors to doctors, dentists or casual shoppers. It is these latter motorists who have every right to be angry.

G RAYNER, Whinney Lane, Langho.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.