Parking: Think again, County Hall

And we certainly make no apologies for continuing to bang the drum on Worthing's behalf.

Very early on, we were able to demonstrate that the town's car parks were among the most expensive in the south '“ and in danger of driving large numbers of shoppers away to rival towns like Brighton and Chichester.

Worthing has plenty to be proud of as a shopping centre '“ its unique location next to the seafront, spacious pedestrian areas and a superb range of shops, large and small.

It's a pointless exercise going over old ground and bemoaning Worthing Borough Council's decision not to retain control of the town's car parks and hand them over to NCP '“ the arguments for and against that have been well aired in our letters page, particularly in recent weeks.

But news that West Sussex County Council plans to increase the cost of on-street parking '“ by as much as two thirds '“ has come as a real hammer-blow.

It has come at a really critical time for the town's traders, when pre-Christmas business can often make the difference between success or failure.

It's far from ideal that many of the key decisions taken about Worthing are being taken in far-flung Chichester.

But maybe news of a hike in on-street parking costs should come as no great surprise when one learns that there are no Worthing members in the county council cabinet, whereas Crawley and Horsham have four members.

How can Worthing hope to have influence when the key decision-making body has no local representatives?

Surely the cabinet should have a fairer representation from the whole county.

We believe that at the very least, the cost of on-street parking should be frozen.

Even better, the county should give Worthing just the lift it needs...and reduce the prices.

In the meantime, you can play your part in trying to make sure County Hall applies some common sense, by writing to Derek Whittington, the county council's cabinet member for strategic planning and transport, to tell him exactly what you think of this crazy idea.

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