Mary Portas today presented her 28-point plan to revitalise Britain's ailing town centres and shopping areas. Have you read it? See http://tinyurl.com/d6qa7oq for the summary. What do you make of the plans? How relevant are they for Tunbridge Wells in your opinion?

The single biggest issue affecting TW retailers is linked to the high cost of car parking, and the fact that there isn't enough of it in the town centre.

No wonder North Farm is booming - it's free to park, and if you go at the right time, you can be in and out within minutes, having parked outside the shop you actually want to visit. Try doing that in the centre of TW.

TWBC have a duty to make sure that shoppers can get to the town centre quickly (no permanantly gridlocked artery roads) and once there, that the cost of parking doesn't become even more prohibitive.

Many people believe that TWBC rely far too heavily on the income generated by parking - this is wrong in my view - and I understand that a consultation is underway for the wider issue of parking, to include resident permit parking charges. I for one will be watching this issue with interest.

Well done Mary Portas for raising some valid suggestions, which I hope the Govt takes some notice of.