Editor

I see that Ceredigion County Council has once again imposed mandatory requirements on those wishing to use its transport facilities.

After last year’s sudden arbitrary imposition of no-traffic areas in the middle of some of the county’s towns, we now have another sudden imposition - using a council car park now requires a bank card.

I don’t recall any kind of consultation, or even advance warning of this new stricture. It would appear that you can’t say how long you’ll be staying, so presumably a half-hour stay now costs as much as an all-day (although this may not apply to all car parks). Not all bank cards work in all card machines (I have a major bank’s debit card that only works in certain independent ATMs for instance).

These machines don’t ask for any confirmation of who you are, so a stolen card would work as well as if the thief owned it. I’m also nervous about giving my bank details, via a machine, to a council which has admitted to having a major data leak for several years.

I find it curious that, having forced people away from on street parking and into their car parks by denying on-street access, they now require those people to pay for that council parking in a restrictive and potentially insecure way. I don’t for one moment believe that it’s anything to do with Covid, it’s just a good excuse to do what they wanted to do anyway.

If that’s the only parking option available when I want to go shopping, I simply won’t shop in that town - more lost business to be laid at the council’s door.

Name and address supplied Tregaron

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