Sir – Once again EHDC have shown a blatant disregard to the opinions of the residents of Alton and to those who voted them in – and let's not forget who are paying their salaries.

Apparently Sunday car parking could be free in the smaller car parks but there will still be a charge in the main ones, but with a reduced fee of 40p. This is supposed to offer 'Excellent Value'! What planet are these people on? Sorry but free Sunday parking in Basingstoke and Farnham and on single yellow lines around the side roads of Alton offers much better value.

EHDC were presented with three petitions, which collected over 5,000 signatures objecting to this Sunday charging. The council then made the patronising statement 'There had been some opposition to the scheme'. EHDC councillor Ken Moon then had the gall to say 'They have taken into account concern from some of the public'.

Well Mr Moon if I had had the time and inclination I could have knocked on every door in Alton and collected well over 15,000 signatures, would that have made any difference? I still get residents coming up to me and asking how my petition went. This is probably one of the biggest protest petitions EHDC have received, and no doubt had it been election year they would have made a different decision!

According to Ken Moon these changes will make it fairer for recreational users and churchgoers.

Will it benefit members of the Methodist church who will still continue to park free in Sainsburys? Will it benefit the members of the public who come to visit the excellent Sunday events staged by AIM? Will it benefit local clubs who stage events and Sunday music in the park? Will it benefit residents who have no on-street parking?

No, it will only benefit EHDC, who will squeeze a bit more cash from the public. They then bleat on about extra wear and tear on the car parks and how these have to be maintained.

Our council have made a massive profit from parking fees and they are sitting on thousands of pounds of car parking revenue – not much sign of that being used on the car parks.

Isn't it about time that EHDC admitted they got it wrong and drop these charges immediately?

Mick Wells, Ings Close, Alton