FOR well over 45 years the land outside the parish church at Eaton Socon has been used as a car park. To my knowledge in all that time it has never been grass or part of the green. The car park has always been in pretty much the same state that it is in n

FOR well over 45 years the land outside the parish church at Eaton Socon has been used as a car park. To my knowledge in all that time it has never been grass or part of the green.

The car park has always been in pretty much the same state that it is in now, and has always been a patch-up job by the council, ie dumping a load of infill for church members to spread over the car park.

When I first came to Eaton Socon over 45 years ago, the village green was always used as a car park for the community, until someone in their infinite wisdom put a hedge between the car park and the rest of the green, turning the small part left into a car park.

I cannot see what possible advantage to the community a piece of land fenced off and grassed is going to be. Who is going to use it? Not the community: that is for sure, if it is fenced off. How is it to be maintained? To the same level as the car park has for 45 years, ie not maintained at all and just another piece of land for rubbish to collect?

The car park has been used by the church and the community for all these years and those using it include St Neots Choral Society, St Neots Sinfonia, mother and toddler groups, the Brownies, Tesco customers, and Tesco lorries waiting to get into the correct car park to unload, all part of the community and not just the church.

Now mothers are going to face the hazard of parking on narrow roads, and the safety of their children is to be put at risk by the council's short sightedness. The elderly and infirm are going to have to walk a longer way to get to the church, not just for services, but for other activities that take place as part of the community.

If the council is afraid of a claim for compensation if an accident occurs, it should really shut off all the footpaths and roads because the number of large potholes is a disgrace, especially outside the entrance to the church that will have to be used.

As I understand it, over 45 years of usage as a car park entitles it to be just that, a car park, and used as such by the community.

Does the council really want car parking along already-narrow roads or is it now going to put double yellow lines all around the green area and down School Lane etc to stop any car parking in the vicinity of the church? Nothing would surprise me.

The whole situation is appalling and those organisations going to be affected by it, as well as the church, should make a strong stand against this decision by the council.

Mrs KATHLEEN ROBERTSON

Glamis Court

Eynesbury