I AM dismayed and disappointed to learn that the council is looking to not only increase parking charges in car parks by 50p per hour, but also introduce on-street car parking charges.

The revenues the council is looking to generate are short-term and based on flawed assumptions and false economies.

I am part of Heswall Business Association and we demonstrated that the high parking charges that were in place two years ago had driven shoppers out of the car parks and out of the towns, having a major impact on the businesses in Heswall, West Kirby, Liscard and Birkenhead.

The decrease in parking charges introduced in 2015 did have a significant impact on parking in the towns with car parks being used more and businesses and amenities in the towns reporting an upturn.

The council is now, in these uncertain times, looking to not just reverse this, but increase prices beyond where they were previously.

The revenue increases will not be as high as predicted, as shoppers will refuse to pay and will vote by shopping elsewhere, taking money out of the borough and killing local trade.

By the time the impact is fully comprehended many shops and restaurants will have been lost forever, costing jobs and lost revenue in business rates.

Just in the past week, two restaurants closed in Heswall.

This, coupled with other recent closures, shows how much the high streets are struggling. This is just in Heswall.

How many shops have to close and jobs lost before the council steps in to help the high street instead of taxing local residents?

Has the council considered the impact on pensioners and those who cannot afford the increased parking rates?

Times are hard, made harder by years of austerity.

If the local shops close, where will the local residents, who don't have access to cars and can't easily get the bus, shop?

Has the council considered the impact on local amenities? Will people pay to use the libraries?

Heswall Hall has seen a resurgence in use in the past couple of years, aided by the lower parking charges.

Will people pay the extra parking charges?

And where will that sense of community be, without the towns acting as a focal point?

And once towns to their knees and beyond, what then?

Will there be rescue packages and incentives to bring businesses back, as the council is attempting in Birkenhead and Liscard?

It will be too late for all those business owners who have been forced to close.

And when a business closes you see an impact with unemployment and lost business rates.

What you don’t see is the shattered dreams of those who dared.

Those who put all their savings and more into opening a high street independent shop.

Those who worked over 12 hours a day six to seven days a week for very little return in the hope of becoming successful doing something they love, and providing jobs and hopes for the community.

All that future pain and investment could have been saved if the council had had a bit of forethought and supported their local communities instead of trying to tax them beyond breaking point.

Abbas Hussain, Principal Pets, Heswall