The retail area of Eastbourne town centre is getting busier.

This may be explained by the onset of Christmas but I noticed the increase in the early autumn.

I believe a factor in this is the introduction of decriminalised parking enforcement in Brighton and Hove and Hastings.

As a result, Eastbourne and places such as Bexhill and Seaford have become more attractive to shoppers.

Decriminalised parking is a system whereby the police save money on their budget by transferring their traffic wardens to the local borough or city council.

The councils receive no compensating government grant or money from the police budget but are allowed to increase spending to set up the system.

The councils keep the parking fines and are permitted to use any surplus of fines income to repay the set-up costs.

The financial success of the scheme relies on the councils imposing the maximum number of parking tickets and tow-away charges on drivers.

While the strict enforcement of the parking regulations has the benefit of keeping the roads clearer for through traffic, the underlying purpose of the scheme is to deter cars from the town centres.

Such a policy is wholly wrong, firstly because the councils have a financial interest in drivers breaking the law and, secondly, because the scheme amounts to a regressive stealth tax on the people.

The Department of Transport encourages the scheme and it is sensible of Eastbourne Borough Council not to be pushed by the Government into its early introduction.

By taking such a stand, the council is supporting local business and employment.

When I discussed the matter with the council's economic development manager, she said the town centre manager would be checking with local stores to assess the situation.

It must be remembered there is nothing intrinsically wrong with cars.

What is needed are cars driven by electricity, hydrogen or other non-pollutants.

No system of penal enforcement should be dependent for its income on people breaking the law and all fines in the criminal justice system should go to good causes, such as charities that support victims of crime and rehabilitate offenders.

-Mike Sherlock, Mountbatten Drive, Eastbourne