YOUR front page headline in last week’s Gazette ‘Parking nuisance’ was very prophetic. Although I doubt if it will be of any consolation to the residents of Flowers Yard, they are not alone in their parking problems.

As a resident of Dallas Road we too suffer from poorly parked cars, as illustrated last week by the firemen from the Dallas Road Fire Station leafleting cars along the road pointing out that they are double parked and blocking the way for fire engines.

This has become an increasing feature of the road in the 20 years I have lived here. Drivers arrive early in the morning and park indiscriminately as they make their way to work in the town or the railway station. We even see fold-up bikes being taken out of car boots and used to cycle to town or the railway station. This would not be a problem if drivers parked considerately. Unfortunately they do not, and only last week despite crawling out of our driveway on my bicycle in order to peer around a car parked close to our drive I had to brake quickly as a car raced through on the wrong side of the road due to the double parking.

We have even had one car parked across our drive for three days and when the driver was tackled on his return he announced he was in a rush to catch his train! I realise the station car park owned by Great Western charges £7.50 daily but the adjacent car park run by Network Rail charges £3 for 24 hours’ parking.

At the end of the day avoiding parking charges should be no excuse for causing a health and safety hazard. Doubtless nothing will be done until there is a serious incident, and with the road being regularly used by pupils travelling to Ivy Lane School I am surprised Wiltshire Council allows this situation to continue. The blame must lie squarely on Wiltshire County Council who fail to police the area with traffic wardens – should it really be up to our local fire brigade to try and rectify the situation!.

However, those responsible sit in their cosy offices in Trowbridge – I doubt if they are even aware of the parking situation in Chippenham. I visited County Hall last year and paid 80 pence for three hours of parking in the centre of Trowbridge. Contrast this to the four central car parks in Chippenham where charges for a single hour range from 80p to £1.10, no wonder drivers choose to park in residential areas rather than use the designated car parks. I was also pleasantly surprised not to encounter a single pothole on my drive through Trowbridge. As a regular cyclist I am aware of the terrible condition of the roads in and around Chippenham with some roads sporting pot holes that are more like mine shafts.

Whilst on the topic of Wiltshire County Council I contacted them in November 2015 to ask if they could replace the ‘Chippenham’ sign opposite the golf course on the A350 that had been removed during the extending of the dual carriageway. This must be the busiest road into Chippenham, yet visitors to the town from the M4 direction will have no idea that they have arrived in the town. To date I have had no response, neither has the sign been erected. I doubt if such a scenario would be allowed to happen in Trowbridge.

My solution to this is quite simple. Chippenham should become the new County town for Wiltshire; after all it has better road and rail links as well as being more central in the county. Perhaps then Wiltshire County Councillors can experience for themselves the local traffic problems and deteriorating roads and spend a similar amount of money on Chippenham that has obviously been splashed on Trowbridge.

WILLIAM HULBERT, Dallas Road, Chippenham