SIR — It looks like the imposition of parking fees for the Blue Anchor seafront will soon become a reality following the forthcoming West Somerset Council meeting.

As a local I am appalled at the thought of having to pay to park at my local beach.

I can appreciate that the current financial predicament of the local council forces it to look at ways of generating immediate income, but the point that seems to have been missed in the rush for 'revenue' is that there are significant capital costs before such a scheme can even start.

For example, all of the bays need to be marked out; signage has to be manufactured and installed; meters/ticket machines need to be purchased and installed; electricity supplies are required to be installed for all of the machines along the full length of the seafront and some lighting may be required.

Once the parking charges commence then there are, of course, the on-going costs of maintenance, power, collection of cash, stationery for tickets plus the enforcement of the parking charge by wardens.

I am sure that none of the above points are new; however, the crux of the matter is that to pay for the capital costs the council will have to borrow the money and pay interest on it.

When the cash flow on current predictions is taken into account then the scheme will not break even for at least three years. This means that far from helping the council's income it will actually make it worse in the short term.

To me this is a ridiculous situation and actually goes against the short term financial aims of the council.

It does not make business sense at all and I can see no justification for proceeding with such a scheme.

In addition there appears to have been little, if any, consideration given to the adverse impact parking charges will have on the local businesses that rely on passing trade.

I am not sure that there is any time left to stop this poorly thought out scheme. To me it appears to be a 'done deal' and will go ahead no matter what.

I believe that the whole scheme is financially misguided and no consideration has been given to us locals to freely enjoy our seashore. We are, after all, just the means for the council to generate revenue.

G M Williams,

Old Cleeve.