MAY I suggest a very practical solution to the parking problem in Northallerton that is to be exacerbated by the lack of spaces at the new police headquarters (D&S Times, Mar 10)? The whole of the prison site should be used for a new car park.

There must be adequate housing in the proposed developments off Darlington Road etc, and there are plenty of shops in the town, so I consider the prison site is not needed for housing or shops.

Workers at the police HQ would all be able to park at the new prison car park and pay Hambleton council the same as shopworkers have to pay in the Applegarth car park.

If the prison site is bigger than the police require, the surplus would be useful for extra parking for shoppers in the town.

Tom Smirthwaite, Thornton-le-Moor, Northallerton

YOU comment that it seems “unlikely staff (at the police HQ) would be prepared to fork out hard earned wages to go to work” (D&S, Mar 10).

Now, just hang on a moment – staff working at the Friarage hospital are expected to pay to park on site. Furthermore, patients and visitors pay handsomely to park at the hospital, so why should staff working at the police HQ, or those using its services, expect to be treated differently to our NHS staff, patients and visitors?

As for reserved parking for senior police officers, surely those fortunate enough to earn the highest salaries are the very people who should expect to make their own parking provision or, at the very least, pay for the convenience of parking on site.

Come on Julia Mullligan, make sure our senior officers are treated the same as our NHS staff.

Deborah Travis, Northallerton

YOU, and the police officers and councillors you quote in your story about the parking “bombshell” caused by the new police HQ (D&S, Mar 10), all appear to assume that every single one of the 500 staff will come to work in a car, thus creating a “parking nightmare”. Is this inevitable?

What about walking, riding a bike, using public transport, and car-sharing?

In your report, you quote Councillor David Blades saying: “We need to see the transport plan.” Exactly!

And there are more modes of transport than single-occupant private cars.

Almost all of the alternatives create less greenhouse gas and other pollutants, and many of them are cheaper and better for the individual’s health and fitness. You win, the planet wins, and parking is bit less of a nightmare for Northallerton.

Dave Dalton, Richmond

I WOULD have greater hope of the forthcoming parking problems at the new police HQ being solved (D&S, Mar 10) if the available parking spaces were allocated to operational vehicles and civilian staff. The senior police officers, deprived of a parking slot, would then be incentivised to solve the parking problem which will afflict junior employees.

CW Johnson, East Cowton, Northallerton