I have every sympathy with residents who are being inconvenienced by the parking problems around Darwen health centre and the new leisure centre.

Neither of these facilities will have enough parking space and the reason seems to be so that we can discourage car users.

Apparently the government sets the planning priorities and lays down guidelines as to how many spaces a development warrants.

As we, as agents of the government, have caused the problem then, if resident parking permits are needed, they should be issued free.

I have been on the Health Committee for five years and, when I was involved in meetings over the new health centre, I queried why there were to be only 55 spaces for visitors when it was planned for there to be eight GPs based there apart from other services.

The answer was that the planning regulations would allow no more which made me think that Tesco and Asda, when building new stores, must use different rule books.

To sum up, we hold consulta-tions to ascertain what the public wants and then build health centres, or hospitals, on the top of hills. We make it as difficult as possible to get there by car in the vain hope that everyone will use the buses and all because the government thinks it is a good idea.

If it is, then it is to be hoped that the doctors and the top staff at both the library and the health centre come and go by bus to set a good example unless, like Nicholas Winterton, they think the general public are just “different”.

Brian Gordon, Conservative Councillor, Meadowhead Ward.