I am writing on behalf of the occupants of Birdhurst Road and Warren Road to voice our unhappiness with the present residents parking system which has now been in place for over three years.

When the introduction of a permit was put to us nearly four years ago we duly filled in the forms, but to this day we have never been shown the results of that poll.

I was told by one of our wardens, and No 22 Birdhurst Road was told by someone at the Civic Centre, 49 per cent had voted no and that you had calculated no response' as a probable yes. If this is correct we would be most interested to see the original results as to exactly how many no responses were taken as a yes.

We are also not happy about the fact that our visitors parking permits went up at the beginning of this year by 100 per cent. They used to be able to park for £1 per day, it is now £2.

Also when the parking restrictions came into force the hours were 08.30-17.30, Monday to Friday. It was changed to 18.30 without any prior notice or consultation.

In many residential areas of Wandsworth the restriction is 09.30 until 16.30 which strikes one as being far more reasonable.

There are no pay and display bays in our road for workmen to use when necessary. When I mentioned this to James Geeson he asked if I would really like four bays created outside my house which clearly indicated that he had missed the point of the argument. There is quite a large area of Birdhurst Road with yellow lines where we believe one bay could be created.

It has been mentioned in correspondence that we may have our hours extended to Saturdays. As there is absolutely no indication of parking times on our residents parking signs we can only assume this is more than likely.

Birdhurst Road is a purely residential street, we are not close to any shopping amenities but you are treating us as if we are next to the High Street or Wimbledon shopping centre.

We were led to believe one of the reasons for having the permits was to deter commuters from using our street with the introduction of the Congestion Charge and that Wandsworth were putting restrictions near St George's Hospital. If that was indeed the case why not have the parking restrictions (at a greatly reduced rate) from 11.00-15.00 - as that, we believe, would deter commuters, or what you have in St Helier Avenue, Morden from 10.00-16.00.

In May BBC London (after the 6pm News) highlighted the fact that house prices have dropped seven per cent in certain areas of Merton because of the high council tax, poor facilities and generally a badly run borough. We pay one of the highest council taxes in London and have very little to show for it and believe our parking permit is yet another means of extracting money from us. When it was first introduced the cost was £30 and this year up to £45. What will it be next year - £55?

The resident of 19A Birdhurst Road attended the council meeting at St John's Hall in Park Street (prior to the introduction of permits) and was told that a review would take place after three years with a questionnaire regarding times, days, etc. We have not had an assessment of our parking permit since its inception and would ask that a review be implemented in the near future on whether the present times and conditions are realistic in our particular area.

RESIDENTS OF BIRDHURST AND WARREN ROAD Copy of letter sent to Merton Council.