I WOULD like to respond to Mr Foster’s letter “Put Brakes On No Car Idea”, published on 8th March.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that anyone is told to give up their car. What I am saying is that, as the owner of the Cotlands Road site, the council has the opportunity to build these proposed homes – which are right by the train station and the town’s busiest bus routes – without car parking spaces.

Nobody will be forced to buy or rent these properties. If having their own car is important to someone, then they are absolutely free to choose one of the thousands of homes available in and around Bournemouth which do offer parking.

However, for those prepared to rely on public transport, cycling and car club membership, these homes will be ideal – particularly as they will be more affordable than similar town-centre flats which do have allocated parking. They will also be right next to a public car park which can be used by occasional visitors. Personally, I would expect them to sell out fast.

Fundamentally, our conurbation’s roads are full, and adding to the number of cars will just make congestion worse. We have no room to build new roads to accommodate cars for our increasing population, so the only alternatives are to reduce demand by building homes closer to where people work, or to cater for that extra demand through sustainable transport (including car clubs). Cotlands Road is at the perfect location for both of these options, and the council should take the bold initiative to build them with car club parking only.

CLLR MIKE GREENE

Bournemouth Town Hall