Last Friday we went to the Municipal offices in Upper Street to buy some visitors parking permits. When we reached the counter after a 35-minute wait a very helpful assistant supplied us with two books of three-hour permits.

With much apologies, however, she told us that the two books of 30-minute permits that we urgently required were not available as they had run out of stock! We were incredulous as we could not understand how Islington Council could run out of parking permits!

Apparently there had been a rush on and, despite a large consignment arriving midweek, the permits for our area were unavailable.

We understand that this was due to the council lifting the restriction on the number of visitors parking permits residents are able to buy and people had been ordering them online as if there was no tomorrow.

It is clear to us that by doing this the council are actively encouraging visitors to the borough to arrive by car rather than use the public transport system with which we are very well served.

This coupled with the Residents’ Roamer scheme, which few wanted, will discourage people from walking and thereby increase obesity and other health problems, cause more pollution, and worst of all an increase in road causalities which in turn will put more pressure on the NHS.

Surely in this day and age the council should be encouraging people out of their cars not into them!

– Pat Tuson and Chris Ashby, Bryantwood Road, N7.