QUITE unbeknown to the business people of Blackpool, and especially town centre retailers, they are to be engulfed by an enormous catastrophe.

This is apart from the inevitable collapse of the Town Hall administration itself, which moves ever forward with the rapid contraction of operational finance which has now tumbled to below £1 million.

Further, it is about to bring about library closures in sheer desperation to survive prior to the resort being taken over by a higher authority.

The huge threat to the town's economy comes from the council's parking plans which have been submitted to central government in order to obtain grants to pull them out of the mire of incompetence. The plans include:

On-street parking charges which will be set artificially high, especially "in the primary shopping area" and "will be more expensive than car parks." Hardly encouraging for the spending visitor, is it?

Off-street parking charges "will be punitive" with the same results.

Excessive charges "will create a new revenue stream."

Reduced number of places overall -- and then going on to reduce that number by ten per cent year on year. And this is supposed to be good for Blackpool's economy?

Withhold from developments adequate parking spaces to create an artificial shortage. Now this will really have the car-dependent businesses queuing up to invest in the town won't it.

Remove parking facilities from town centre to outskirts to be connected by public transport and located "remote from the retail and accommodation neighbourhoods." Now who is going to put up with all that hassle when they can drive to Preston, Cleveleys, Lytham etc?

Thousands of spaces have been lost since 1997. In spite of this "there is no intention to increase the town's capacity."

As Blackpool's economy becomes more and more dependent on the car-borne visitor, so the council makes it increasingly difficult for the motorist to visit to spend money without which Blackpool may as well shut up shop.

I shouldn't be surprised if the council's next move were to install gates at the end of the motorway into the resort. In fact, their general attitude to the incoming and spending motorist is clearly demonstrated by the official complaint which they have put to Government, that visitors are responsible for the volume of traffic along the promenade and this conflicts with the amenity of residents.

If central government were daft enough to act on the council's complaint, Blackpool would be the only resort in the world with a Prom from which visitors were banned in order to "facilitate the amenity of residents."

Our ruling-councillors have simply lost the plot. They must be the only decision-makers of any holiday destination who repeatedly demonstrate such a pathetic lack of grasp of the basic economic workings of a holiday resort.

Peter Roscoe, South Shore.