I TOOK my child for swimming lesson at Altrincham Leisure Centre on Saturday, and parked as usual in the next door Oakfield Road Car Park, only to discover the parking fee had increased from 50p to £1.50!

In weeks prior, there had been no warning signs of the increase, so I did not have the right amount of change and could only supply two £1 coins.

One of these was the new £1 coin which the machine did not take either!

I was not the only parent in this situation and quite a crowd gathered whilst we shared pieces of change to see what we could get between us, and others dashed off to the Leisure Centre to obtain change.

What a farce! 70p for half an hour, no one hour charge, what on earth are Trafford Council thinking? We don't need two hours thank you, one hour is sufficient at a reasonable price!

50p was acceptable for an hour but an increase to £1.50?! With two lots of swimming lessons (two children) per week that's an extra £156 a year.

No, I cannot get public transport or walk there, but it may be cheaper to swim at a private centre out of town.

A simple explanation may be that the council is trying to drive people away from this piece of land that they want to put the Altair development on, but alas no the fees are across the town.

Apparently, the council is spending £6-million on "improvements to public realm space".

Maybe once the parking fees have driven the commuters and shoppers and away from the town, the few people that are left will be able to see all those pretty pavements that have been put in.

I would be surprised if there is any reasonable explanation.

Jude Neli via website