There's no absolute right to be able to park outside your house

It is ridiculous to expect tradesmen to use the park and ride which was designed for use by commuters, shoppers and visitors to Oxford.

Our forward-thinking engineers in County Hall, and no doubt supported by our city council, have, over the past few years, steathily converted the city roads into permanent car parks.

They forget the road system in any town or city forms their main arteries, which should be kept free for easy movement of traffic. Clogging sections of them as permanent car parks to serve a few householders is not the answer, and the removal of areas which were designated for ‘parking’ has only shifted the problem on to the roads.

Those who purchase properties with no parking facilities do so with full knowledge that, should they purchase a car, they are responsible for finding a parking spot. They should not take it for granted that the area of road in front of their premises belongs to them, and the county should not encourage and promote this mistaken belief by issuing permits.

Parking on the city roads should be limited to short stays, for periods of two hours or at the most three hours. We all pay road taxes, therefore I see no reason why some sections of the public are permitted, for an extra fee, to park in areas of the highway.

Fines imposed on those who unknowingly park in restricted areas are completely out of all proportion to fees charged for permits. How can this be considered to be fair?

If the roads are used as they were originally intended to be used for tradesmen, ambulances, police, fire engines, public transport, delivery vehicles and others would find it easier to et around.

VIM RODGRIGO, Rivermead Road, Rose Hill, Oxford Hunting old matadors BACK in 1967, Oxford was home to the Matadors Scooter Club, as well as the Oxford Spires (who were branch 15 of the Vespa Club of Britain), as well as the Oxford Lambretta Club.

I’m keen to trace any ex-Oxford scooter riders from the 1950s, 60s or early 70s, as I’m currently writing a book on the UK scooter scene during those times.

Did you own a scooter then? Were you a member of any of these clubs?

I’d love to hear people’s recollections of scooter ownership, rallies (home and abroad), dealers, scooter racing and competitions. Do you have any old photographs, magazines or club items which could be photographed for inclusion?

I can contacted either by email scootermemories@hotmail.co.uk) or by post: Pete Davies, 95 Grove Road, Blaby, Leicester, LE8 4DH.

PETE DAVIES, Blaby, Leicester Car parks not dead space WE echo Michael Clarke’s views (Oxford Mail, August 12) of Cllr Darke’s comments in The Issue about car parks being dead spaces.

We shudder to think that his views may represent those of the executive board of Oxford City Council.

Yes, some car parks can be fairly bleak looking if not well landscaped and maintained. And yes, it does make sense to maximise space and use in car park locations.

However, car parks are anything but dead spaces. They are essential hubs enabling people to access shops and restaurants, their hairdressers, accountants, solicitors and other businesses.

In addition, they provide valuable space for many sales, service and supply vehicles whose drivers are visiting local premises. Many of the spaces will be used several times over in any one day.

Car parks also have a role in the evening, providing necessary infrastructure for people visiting restaurants and pubs, local community centres and halls, theatres and cinemas. They are absolutely vital to the local community, whether in the suburbs of Oxford or the city centre.

With an increasing population in the city, it is nonsense to even consider reducing car parking spaces. If there are insufficient spaces to support businesses in Oxford, then there is a risk many of those businesses will become unviable and close as customers shift to out-of-town destinations with plenty of free parking.

The supermarkets in those locations recognise the importance of car parks to their operations and profitability, even if Cllr Darke does not.

GRAHAM JONES for ROX – promoting Oxford business, St Giles, Oxford Save our beloved NHSI’M no expert, but it would seem that the Government listening exercise on the Health and Social Care Bill has done nothing to change its most damaging and fearful proposals, sealing the fate of our beloved NHS to being mostly provided privately, while ensuring the Secretary of State for Health no longer remains accountable.

So what happens when these health companies go bust? Just like private pensions from companies that go bust, people won’t get what they signed up for and the person at the top won’t be held responsible because it is not against the law.

Great, reap the rewards when all goes well and be able to say ‘it’s nothing to do with me’ when it all goes wrong.

These two dangerous aspects of this bill are like diseased feral beasts that need culling, or we, our children and our grandchildren will be left with the NHS nothing more than a logo on the body bag of a profit-driven, health care system.

It is Government backed looting of our NHS and we must stop it. How you may ask, what can I do? Well, you can write to your MP or local paper about it or join one of the multitudes of organisations which are fighting to get these dangerous aspects of the Bill amended.

Please support your NHS and help stop this back door looting of our world-class NHS.

Richard Lohman, Wheatley Road, Stanton St John The system in broken BETTER, fairer funding for social care – we can’t afford not to. Any of us at any time in our lives might need social care, and the recent Dilnot Report on the funding for adult social care brought home an uncomfortable truth: chronic under-funding has left us with a system too broken to support people properly.

Andrew Dilnot is right to say that additional public funding for adult social care is urgently required.

I am concerned that the media focus is only on older people as this obscures some critical aspects. I believe the report clearly shows that not only can the Government afford to support disabled people of all ages, but crucially as a society we can’t afford not to.

It is now up to the Government to fund adult social care so that it gives quality of life to disabled people of all ages.

For deaf-blind people, good social care means having the communication and mobility support they need to do things like getting to the bank, doctor’s or shops; reading post; travelling to work, volunteering or school; visiting family or friends or getting out for a walk, not just support with personal care (things like eating, washing and dressing).

GILLIAN RATHBONE, Walton Well Road, Oxford Victory for common sense THE UK Payments Council has announced that they are to reverse their decision to scrap cheques by 2018 and continue their use for as long as customers need them.

For small businesses and sole traders, cheques are a crucial form of payment and many were concerned that their removal would drive up their costs.

For customers, especially the elderly, cheques are reliable, safe and not too technological.

Last year alone there were over one billion cheque transactions – which shows just how widely-used this form of payment still is.

This announcement means that those who rely on cheque payments can now be sure of their future.

It was the Liberal Democrat MP for Cheadle, Mark Hunter, who originally launched the Save the Cheque campaign through an Early Day Motion in Parliament, in November 2009.

Thanks to his work the cheque has now been saved.

This is a great victory for people, power and common sense, and proves that the banks cannot afford to ignore the views of their customers.

Cllr ZOÉ PATRICK, leader of the opposition, County Hall New Road Oxford Riots Linked to the cuts? CLEARLY there is a link between the draconian cuts imposed and the recent sorry events.

The coalition made a dreadful mistake in freezing child benefit. They have scored an own goal here, as scared investors have now pulled out of the UK, especially after watching the Sony factory burn down.

Freezing child benefit may explain why so many children were not enjoying a nice, bucket-and-spade holiday by the seaside this August. In contrast, all of the Cabinet were on pleasant sunshine breaks.

Half of the rioters were bored children.

One of these children tried to sell a looted computer game to a reporter for £2 as he was desperately hungry and wanted to buy some chicken wings. He had no money at all.

George Osborne is the Mr Nasty of politics. The outcome of this policy is that our country has now lost millions in investments; so in the long run freezing child benefit has not saved the country any money.

Cuts in youth projects meant that bored gang members were not at their usual youth club, some of which are run by former rehabilitated gang members.

The Tories have got it wrong and no money is being saved by their measures as investors pull out in droves.

This Government also sends £5m a year to families of suicide bombers in the Middle East.

It is a ridiculous policy and will only encourage them to keep on blowing themselves up.

Our own country needs the money and is now an international laughing stock.

SUSAN THOMAS Magdalen Road Oxford