ALTHOUGH the parking problem at Kemble station is quite serious I wonder if it is necessary, as proposed, to build another ground level car park on a green field site behind the Tavern Pub.

As an alternative why not make use of the existing car park to build a low rise multi-storey car park on the site of the old coal yard.

This site is on excavated land and is already some ten feet or so lower than the surrounding ground and a well designed building would be no more obstructive than the farm buildings half a mile away.

It would be largely obscured by the tall trees adjoining the station approach road anyway. The roof could be fitted with solar panels and would provide a useful contribution to the National Grid.

Undoubtedly Kemble and other local villages will be affected by the proved rail connection to London and the future electrification form Paddington to Bristol which has been carried out largely at the insistence of commuters.

It cannot be a useful move to spread car parks over the green fields which we treasure so much simply to meet the demand.

This is particularly necessary now that the effect of the annual increase in population due to longevity and immigration add up to an increase about equal to six times the population of Cheltenham every year.

Thus we should conserve our food sources at long as possible.

Let us keep the land in essential agriculture use even after the inevitable objections to the very limited effect that a multi-storey car park would have on a very few people and this alternative suggestion is worthy of consideration in the long term interests of the community.

T LEES

West Hay Grove

Kemble