OLDER Roystonians can remember a time when there were no charges for car parking and it was possible to meander about the town window-shopping without having to constantly keep an eye on the time for fear of over-staying the time limit on a parking ticket

OLDER Roystonians can remember a time when there were no charges for car parking and it was possible to meander about the town window-shopping without having to constantly keep an eye on the time for fear of over-staying the time limit on a parking ticket. I do feel great sympathy for shopkeepers and businesses in Royston, but it is far too stressful to park in the town and it is not surprising that people prefer to go elsewhere. Anyway, why should we pay a tax to go shopping? Despite an on-going annual increase in council tax demands "in order to maintain services", there appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to actually reducing the standards of these services: whether it is grass-cutting or a reduction in the number of firefighters. And this is at a time when an increasing number of houses are being built in Royston and the surrounding area. As council tax payers bear the brunt of these diminishing services, may we ask if any councillor's expenses have been similarly effected. Mrs G TURNER Green Drift Royston