In response to “All the debate was to no avail” (Letters, October 6): I have read with increasing despondency the letter from Cllr Gerry Lewis chairman and Mayor of Dulverton Town Council. Don’t we all experience and resent the unjustifiable “uniformity” of these parking restrictions and the “controlling money grabbing self-interest of Big Brother” style West Somerset Council? Do we have a choice?

Don’t we resent it when overnight, we find that, where we could have once quickly parked for that forgotten pint of milk, say, we find we are faced with more disfiguring yellow lines? In future, if you want that pint of milk you will have to pay, be forced to pay. Failure to comply? Win, win for WSC, seeing the enforcement on us of a hefty fine. So, the cost of parking? - more than the cost of a pint of milk, of course. We complain, but what can we do?

It’s all about Money! We all know and resent that we are being squeezed by a very lucrative money grabbing “stealth tax”, self-servingly imposed ‘Big Brother’ style, as one experience of mine unnervingly demonstrated to me. A quick stop, a minor parking offence admittedly, to pick up the daily newspapers for our village led on this particular morning to a chilling encounter with two aggressive female parking enforcers. Complete with intimidating mirror shades, they left me in no doubt who was in charge, and it certainly wasn’t the people of the village.

This unnervingencounter left me feeling almost as a stranger in my own home community. Was this a vision and shape of things to come, sleep walking into a future Big Brother style? It certainly felt like it.

So yes, I would argue a concern that Dulverton’s dilemma is very definitely our dilemma too when Cllr Lewis laments that the “last vestiges of democracy in West Somerset died a sad and unfortunate end at the hands of the Conservative members of WSC”. How can this be? At a loss, how can our response be no more than as powerless bystanders?

The aim of the Localism Act 2012 was to devolve more decision making powers from central government back into the hands of individuals, communities and (parish) councils.

Should this be a disquieting call of concern to us all with regard to possible implications of the proposed new council resulting from the merger of Taunton Deane with West Somerset Council? Is it possible that, with the death of democracy as predicted by Cllr Lewis, rural West Somerset may in time become the backwater “poor country cousin”, overlooked and sidelined by more powerful ambitions?

So there we have it: our wake-up call! It is not for WSC to adopt the Localism Act, it is for us all to take up the challenge and force WSC to bend to the will of our communities and their values in this handing back of our democratic rights.“Dulvertonians were happy with the arrangements as they stood, it’s their town, and the town council, businesses and residents know best what is for their local community” (Cllr Gerry Lewis, Free Press, October 6).

Whether we believe in the freedom and liberty of our democratic rights, or are just brassed off with the imposition of outrageous parking regulations and charges, or both, let us take heart and join in support with Mayor and Cllr Gerry Lewis, Dulverton Town Council, the people of Dulverton and our local communities.

They speak for all of us in their democratic challenge against Big Brother party politics, and their imposed parking regulations. Together we can force WSC to bend to the will of our communities and our values for the ultimate common good of everyone. All very politely, of course.

Carol Maney, Monksilver