Last week I went to the Newtown Area Residents Association meeting when the main topic was car parking problems.

This especially interested me as I used to drive and even fly aircraft but now, with epilepsy, I can't do either and have no car; just the memories.

The majority of houses on Newtown are over 100 years old. The streets are quite narrow never designed for cars. Many houses have no garages; consequently many cars are parked on the street. Non-residents coming to Trowbridge to shop, often park in Newtown to avoid paying town centre car park charges.

This compounds the car-parking problem, making life impossible for residents and stopping access for emergency vehicles.

One solution would be to have a Residents Only Parking scheme with a sympathetic traffic warden to enforce it.

This would require extra government funding, which is unlikely.

I see all these difficulties and I know from bitter experience how important cars are to get employment and have a social life.

I sympathise with the Newtown residents and suggest that we are damned if we have a car and damned if we don't as public transport in this area is pitifully awkward and unreliable.

G Hedley,

Trowbridge.