Sir, – In your editorial of January 16, which was devoted to the commercial success of Northallerton's High Street, you state that the population of the town is only 17,000. This is indeed correct, but it ignores the fact that for all practical purposes Northallerton and Romanby are one and the same place. According to the 2001 census the population of Romanby was just over 6,000, and there will have been a considerable increase in its population since then. Nevertheless, adding these two figures together gives a population of 23,000.

Then there is Brompton, only a stone's throw from the town boundary at Stonecross, which according to the 2011 census had a population of more than 2000. These three places are often regarded as one urban entity, the population of which must now exceed 25,000.

Undoubtedly, Northallerton's success as a vibrant shopping town has been adversely affected by the imposition of parking charges, and most particularly for the independent traders. I must tell you that I was recently walking along the arcade that is adjacent to Barkers' Department store. Four traffic wardens emerged from a cafe on the left hand side. I was astonished and said,"good heavens, does it take four wardens to supervise the parking in Northallerton?". They replied that they had just been having a meeting! "This is absurd", I replied, " why don't you hold your meeting, if you need one, in Scarborough, before you leave. They responded by saying that a fortnight ago they had held their meeting in Richmond! A few days later there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. There was not a traffic warden to be seen. Perhaps they had become stuck in a snowdrift while motoring across the North Yorkshire Moors! Why is it that the parking has to be supervised by wardens who travel from Scarborough when the County Hall is in Northallerton (sorry, Romanby!) Alternatively, It could be a job for someone from the District Council at Stonecross, or perhaps for a Police Community Support Officer!

There could be a better way to pay for the cost of providing car parking in towns and cities, a national scheme, perhaps, but I have decided that I have said enough for the time being.

David Hill, Boroughbride Road, Northallerton.