Sir,

In 1968, in response to extreme traffic congestion caused by visitors parking cars on the only road through our village, Lord Cawdor, the owner of Stackpole Estate, gave the village of Bosherston that land at the rear of the church for use in perpetuity as a free car park for all.

This facility was in addition to land acquired some years earlier by Mr. and Mrs. Weston, owners of Bosherston Village Tea Rooms, to provide off road parking for their patrons since they were well aware of the parking problem.

In 1974, National Trust was given 2,500 acres of Stackpole Estate, including the village car park. The Trust leased the car park variously to Dyfed County Council and to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, the last lease being surrendered in 2002. Each of these authorities undertook, at considerable public expense, extensive works of improvement to the car park during their respective tenancies.

Mention is made that the land was given free of charge to National Trust and, as far as can be ascertained, the Trust has actually spent not a penny piece of its own money on landscaping, surfacing or site access, or, indeed, any improvements.

The use of the land as a free car park continued from inception though until 2009, constituting a 41-year period of uninterrupted use, at which point in time National Trust, despite extensive local protest, proceeded to impose charges for parking. Bosherston village has made repeated representation to National Trust offices and officers at local level, Welsh regional level and at National level concerning this. The only concession, and this dragged unwillingly from the Trust, was the eventual acceptance that Lord Cawdor had given the use of the land to the village as a free car park.

Despite this and the frequently declared and over the years, the oft repeated, intent of National Trust (Stackpole) to manage the Estate as did Lord Cawdor and as Lord Cawdor would have done had he remained, NT (Stackpole) has clearly stated that as far as it is concerned then it has no obligation in any manner, shape or form whatsoever to honour Lord Cawdor's wishes and intent as to the free use of the car park and that parking charges will remain.

NT (Stackpole) has been asked how it reconciles its action on the ground with its stated intent regarding Lord Cawdor. So far - and the correspondence was sent on September 1, 2013 - there has been no reply to this question - it should make interesting reading when, or, more probably, if, NT condescends to pen a reply.

ln the meantime and as a direct result, congestion has returned to our one and only road - now by car parkers actively looking to avoid a £5 charge. This has to be an accident waiting to happen and it constitutes a serious impediment to the free run through the village of the Coastguard Service from its station within the village, to ambulances attending fallen climbers on the headlands and to any other emergency call-out.

John Jukes,

for and on behalf of the

village of Bosherston.