Marcus Wood

There is an interesting story in todays Herald Express concerning the ongoing saga of car park provsion in Torbay.

Apparently the Lib Dems have decided to use their majority on the overview and scrutiny board to launch a 'review' of car parking.

This is an interesting development in the frantic rearguard action being mounted by a political party facing meltdown at the next elections due in May 2007.

Having caused uproar with the imposition on local taxpayers of an expensive and inflexible arrangement with NCP over on street parking and the highest car park charges on the South Coast the Lib Dems are now saying "In light of the public concern and the shelf-life of the existing parking strategy, the overview and scrutiny board decided that a wide-ranging review of parking provision within Torbay would be timely."

It would have been timlier still if they had done the review before signing a 5 year agreement with NCP.

I think Torbay residents will see this for exactly what it is - the Lib Dems simply hoping to try and divert some of the public anger and distance themselves from unpopular decisions they took so that the public 'forget' about them before next years election.

I think they are clutching at straws.