Support for a public petition to address on-street parking issues in Ross is growing by the day. The initiative, started by local Broad Street proprietors David and Yolanda MacGregor of Field Fayre, The Organic Store, has been running for over a week now. So far 115 people have signed the petition in support of an increase in the time limit to one hour, with only one against.

The petition also proposes the removal of the taxi rank on Broad Street, no longer used by local taxis and can actually be used by the public until 10pm. This is seen by many as confusing so it is often left empty as a consequence.

David MacGregor said: "We have started this petition on behalf of the public who support Town Centre shops. The great majority of people see this issue as a 'no brainer'. We don't need Sherlock Holmes to work this one out, just some basic common sense. The number of tickets issued is excessive (in Ledbury 683 tickets were issued in the last year, in Ross 1,494, of which 518 were on Broad Street). These figures are only for Penalty Charge Notices issued for on-street parking and not other parking contraventions.

He claims that there is one reason why the parking attendants do so well here, the parking limit is not long enough. We need to remember - every ticket issued is a potential Town Centre shopper lost, and does nothing for the long term success of Ross' independent shops. We would urge the Ross Town Council to rethink their position in light of the demands of their public".

The petition will be presented to the Ross Town Council and Herefordshire Council in due course.