An idea has been put forward "to raise funds for Queen's Park" and help AFCB with their parking problems on match days. It has been suggested that the Council allow AFCB to use the football pitch at Queen's Park West for parking on match days, charging £1 per car. It would be manned by AFCB marshals.

In response, we have made the following points:

1. The land is supposed to be used in perpetuity as "public walks and pleasure grounds", and it's difficult to see how being used as a car park sits with that requirement. It's a legal requirement accepted by the Council when they accepted the land on very generous terms in 1904/8 - it's not a decision that the Council has made of its own volition and which it can rescind. The covenants are of the nature of a charitable trust, and as such any infringement is likely to attract the attention of the Charity Commissioners.

2. Our Society is awaiting a decision on our application to have the land registered as a Town Green. If successful, this also would preclude its use as a car park.

3. If people are capable of walking from QP West to Dean Court, it seems reasonable to suppose that they are also capable of walking from a bus stop.

4. And most importantly, this is the only piece of flat open space in Queen's Park that is available for informal games and recreation. It's already very much used by people seeking an area to play where they won't be bothered by golfing, and as a Society we are concerned with promoting and increasing its use further - but not for car parking. We are still hoping to see a children's playground and 5-a-side football regularly played on this space, and it's adjacent to the BMX area - the presence and movement of cars would be something of a hazard to these activities. Members of our Society would see it as a further infringement of our freedom to enjoy our Park unhindered and in safety.

While not unsympathetic to the need to find a solution to AFCB's parking difficulties, this is not an appropriate solution. There is, however, another suggestion for raising money for Queen's Park which would be far more popular: how about selling off the redundant perimeter fencing?