Dear Editor,

In last week’s Ross Gazette, your correspondent, Sandie Cotterell, asked if she is the only one confused by so-called ‘Asset Transfers’ involving Homs Road Car Park. She is not alone in her confusion.

In the late 1970s, when I had a record shop in Broad Street, Homs Road Car Park was heavily utilised by coaches. These coaches would bring visitors from the Welsh Valleys, the Midlands and all over. The visitors were dropped off in the town, coaches would park up in Homs Road Car Park and, at the end of the day, the visitors would be collected, having spent a great deal of money in Ross-on-Wye’s independent shops and cafes.

There are 14 spaces for coaches in that car park, but they remain empty because some ‘bright spark’ thought it would be a good idea to put a barrier across the entrance to only allow cars and expect coaches to go and hunt down a key somewhere in the town. It is no wonder that coach drivers take their visitors elsewhere. From the Google photo, you can see how ridiculous it all is.

Instead, any coaches and buses that do venture to Ross are encouraged to go to Ross Park (e.g. Labels) and Morrisons.

Our Councillors just don’t seem to get it when it comes to what makes a town tick. Some of them must think that it is about how many supermarkets and charity shops we can squeeze in. Or how much of the town can we block off to traffic. What makes a town ‘tick’ is a healthy selection of independent shops, plenty of visitors, good on street as well as off street parking.

And they have excluded local residents and the press from parts of their ‘open discussions’ about the so-called unused Homs Road car park and we should know why.

Andrew Meek

Ross-on-Wye