I was at Thursday evening's meeting with Steve Galloway, when he issued the Evening Press with his oddball challenge about supporting recycling (Under Pressure, July 23).

I was attending on behalf of York Opera, one of the many voluntary, arts and entertainment groups in the city whose members and audiences are badly affected by the council's hike on evening parking charges and the daft lack of any compensating alternative, such as extending the Park & Ride scheme to cover evenings in full and not just up to nine o'clock.

It is amazing that such an experienced politician did not seem to recognise sufficiently just how wrong he's got things this time round.

It is quite an achievement to have offended so many interest groups at one go. At the meeting, they clearly included householders, small businesses, churches, voluntary groups, pensioners, and the social, arts and entertainments sectors of the city.

Time for a wise head to make some more concessions, I should say, and not just keep asking us what we'd do instead: after all, Steve's the council leader, not me.

During York Opera's run of The Mikado at the Theatre Royal the best laugh and loudest applause of the night came at the point where the new parking charges got their less than honourable mention on Koko's "little list". We all remain convinced that "they never will be missed".

So, in the same spirit, here is a response to Councillor Galloway's oddball challenge to you. Let's all support recycling to the hilt, with him and his fellow Lib-Dem councillors taking the lead. They can start by recycling their policy on parking charges, which most of the voting population of York seem to have already consigned to the dustbin.

Clive Goodhead,

President of York Opera,

Rowley Court,

Earswick, York.

...I work in Bridlington, and parking is free throughout the town after 6pm. This encourages evening visitors, who park up at the harbour or one of the other sea-front car parks, and take a stroll or go for an evening meal.

I believe the charging regime is hitting local York businesses hard, and have never seen Micklegate so quiet as it has been in recent weeks.

Traders have enough pressures with steep rent and business rate increases each year, without having to worry about this.

City of York Council presumably hopes the charges will plug a gap in its budget, but it could lead to a decline in revenue, killing the city centre at the same time.

Well done on your campaign!

Alex B Cann

Ovington Terrace

South Bank, York

...WHILE staying in a Knaresborough hotel, I overheard a guest asking advice on reaching the centre of York for a business appointment. He knew he could not take his car but could not carry his cases far and said they would be difficult to manage on "the buses he knew went from the large car parks".

The man then said he might cancel the whole thing and added that the reason he had not gone to a York hotel was because of the difficulties of reaching one with all the traffic and parking restrictions.

Last weekend at a Coventry hotel, an American guest said she had heard of York "where you can not go into the centre unless you walk" but might try next time they came to England.

While visiting an old friend in a York nursing home, another visitor said they now never went into York centre as it was "too difficult and far too dear to park". They now stay at an hotel some four miles outside York and go into Easingwold.

How many others are deterred by the ill-planned schemes which this inefficient council appear to think will help to balance the books?

Mrs M Barker,

Ousecliffe Gardens,

York.

... MY objections to the parking charges have been totally selfish, ie it was costing me more to enjoy an evening out.

This was until last Saturday night, when I enjoyed an evening meal at the Ujala restaurant in Nunnery Lane, dead opposite the car park.

The operative word is "dead" because apart from the fact that it was nearly 8pm, there were only a dozen or so cars in the car park and what is even worse, we were the only diners in the lovely restaurant.

Although there was a lively takeaway trade, it was tragic that this little gem was so neglected, although it hasn't always been so. The head waiter assured us that sit-down trade had always been brisk until a few weeks ago when the extra charges were imposed.

Coun Anne Reid will issue her usual spiel about reviews etc. but will it be soon enough to help another business through these difficult times?

Paul Gledhill,

Acomb Wood Close,

Woodthorpe,

York.

Updated: 09:28 Monday, July 26, 2004