AFTER reading John Fellenor's letter I, too, have had my suspicions that the closing of Chippenham's Monkton Hill will benefit only the council office staff to give them clear access.

Monkton Hill consists of a few offices at the bottom and a church, with the council offices right at the top tucked away out of sight.

There is hardly anything in that road that would cause congestion.

When Station Hill is blocked most people can ease the traffic by going down Monkton Hill to escape.

I can't count how many times this week I was stuck on Station Hill waiting for lorries to unload at Taylors or Buds nightclub.

The flower shop had a large lorry delivering stacks of flowers.

Traffic builds up as far back as the bridge one way and all down New Road the other way, it becomes stalemate at the bottom of Station Hill.

Most people can envisage what closing of Monkton Hill will mean except, of course, those powers-that-be at the council offices who sit back and do just what they want to regardless of the general public's fears.

While we are on the subject of council offices I see that the capping charges have been rejected for the staff car park.

This, of course, will mean that they will continue to use the free car park at Brake Mead which, I believe, was intended for people using the park or the golf course and crazy golf.

This car park is full to the brim and the overflow is spilled into Sadlers Mead and Esmead, leaving the residents of Monkton Park Estate unable to have visitors at their own homes as the cars are parked outside their homes five days a week, all day long.

This has continued ever since the council has made the staff pay for parking.

The council should have made provision for staff parking when it built the offices at an astronomic cost to tax payers.

Perhaps they are now considering parking for their staff down Monkton Hill, hence the closing of it.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED