Salute from fellow parking sufferer

We are also a family living in the citadel. We also have a car and struggle to cope with daily life in a town not really designed for motor vehicles. In all the years we have lived here we have never been able to park on the bays outside our home for longer than one hour; not that we ever find one vacant. For the first few years we paid to park the car in Gun Gardens residents car park but a huge hike in the annual fee (by nearly 400%) prevented us from continuing to do so - and I note many bays remain empty.

Save for a few privileged exceptions; residents are not issued with permits in the citadel; why is a mystery to us. And although clearly unjust, we have not made an issue of this as we were fully aware of it when we bought the property.

Like G.Harris we live full time in Rye and spend a small fortune with the businesses,shops and pubs, often in the out of season months when they are struggling. To my knowledge there are just a handful of young families living in the citadel and I think there should always be room for them in a town. If you make families unwelcome you will end up with one dead town full of empty 2nd homes and an increasingly elderly populace, if you need proof just visit Venice.

We only ask others not to pass judgment and put themselves in our shoes for a moment. I would like to meet this G Harris, as I for one will certainly salute him in the street!

J.White

Rye