CONGRATULATIONS to Southampton Shipowners Association (SSA). Your letter (September 10) was a well written argument against rushing to introduce a charging scheme. It actually contained facts and figures, unlike most of the articles supporting the scheme. Alas, I think the council has already made up its mind and the scheme will be introduced.

SSA offers a common sense approach but I do not think the council will be interested.

I suspect that:

• The haste to finish consultation is so that the council can sign up to a deal to implement the scheme as soon as possible, and with enough caveats that the contract cannot be cancelled – we would be stuck with it.

• The initial price will be less than £100 a day and the council will claim they have done this to keep business in the port, and then expect us to be grateful.

• The price will rise year-on-year.

• After a year or two, private diesel vehicles will be included.

• At a later point, petrol vehicles will also be included.

• The area included in the scheme will be expanded and expanded.

So, yet again, our Labour council rushing to spend our money so that they can then ask for more by way of the daily fee and the net result will almost certainly be trade moving away from our city.

Our council is so short of money that we cannot have weekly bin collections, so where is the money coming from for this new scheme?

At almost 68 years old, I know how little trust I place in politicians (both local and central) and how many times I have heard them say one thing, only to change their position, once in power. I don’t regard it as a jaded viewpoint, more a realistic one.

Perhaps, just perhaps, HMG will block the council from introducing this scheme.

Southampton council – slow down, give us full details of the scheme, reasoned arguments (complete with data), in the Daily Echo. Change from “consultation” (which means nothing) into “engaging with us and doing what WE want”, if you dare!

Martin Sennett

Southampton