MYSELF and other people I have spoken to recently are getting rather concerned about the rapid decline of people using the town centre to shop.

Now, I’ve heard people say it’s because of the lack of and quality of shops we now have. Unfortunately, I think that’s far from the truth.

From what I have seen, it’s mostly down to the sheer amount of parking attendants we now have and how horrible the majority of them are.

Don’t get me wrong, they do come in useful because people should pay for parking, but when a person has paid and their ticket has run out by a single minute, surely they should be given some grace by a few minutes over – but no, they are not.

I have seen attendants standing waiting for the ticket to run out. They have their ticket and pictures all sorted beforehand and slap it on the vehicle the exact second the parking ticket has expired. How is that fair?

Also, the Hippodrome is going to be another business that won’t last long if these vultures have their way. Most people that go to the Hippodrome on a daily basis are pensioners that require taxis to get there and back, and yet again this is being prevented from happening because no sooner are the taxis pulling up the attendants are trying to book them again. How is that fair?

This town is going to rack and ruin and something needs to be done about it.

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