Sir, – I went along to the Bedale Gateway car park consultation to see if I could get any answers from the Hambleton Council officers. It turned out to be a forlorn hope.

I asked a basic question: “What documented evidence to you have that proves that people who visit Bedale will walk three hundred metres into the town centre of Bedale” from the proposed car park?

Answer: “Well other towns have car parks which are a long way out of town” When I asked was this really a scientific approach and which towns did they mean I was met with a blank stare.

The attending Hambleton district councillor was no better when questioned, he had obviously studied at the Nick Clegg school of politics, sit on the fence until you see which side is winning and then join them.

However, just as I was about to give up and leave salvation arrived in the form of Bedale town councillor Carol Clark who like me had come along to get some answers. Firstly she put forward to me the best case I have heard from anyone for the Gateway car park. She did not convince me but she did make me see things differently, but happily like me she was strongly opposed to the selling of either the auction mart or Bridge Street car parks to fund it.

It was due to some robust exchanges between her and one of the council officials and the attending district councillor that they let slip that £400,000 had been set aside in the council’s budget for the Gateway car park and that the selling off on one of our town centre car parks was to make up the balance to the estimated total cost of £500,000.

So there you have it. We could lose 65+ town centre car parks spaces for the sake of £100,000. Not only that, we would be losing a car park nearest where most of housing development is taking place in Bedale and next to our main tourist attraction, the Wensleydale Railway.

I may not approve of the Gateway car park but many do and if that is the wish of the majority so be it, but it should not be at the cost of losing one of the town's amenities because once it is gone we have lost it forever.

BILL TETLOW

Bedale.