TO preserve our way of life we have to change - that is the message from a Stockbridge community leader as the town heads into an important year.

Parish council chairman, Roger Tym, has issued a battle cry to the Test Valley town, its residents and businesses.

Stressing that his views were his own, and not necessarily those of the council as a whole, he said Stockbridge had to recognise that it was not a "quiet backwater" and had a large catchment area, thanks to being at the centre of the A30 and A3057.

Mr Tym said surveys showed that people's most common complaint was parking problems and that this put off potential visitors - at a parish council meeting in December he announced that plans for a car park were in their early stages.

He said Stockbridge benefited from distinctive and attractive shops, mostly owned by individuals.

"Is it a fluke of good fortune that we have these shops? Why are they here and not, say, in Kings Somborne? Simply, they are here because Stockbridge lies at the junction of these two main roads and this is where the most people, with the most spending money conveniently congregate.

"All the shops in the town need customers, and if they had to rely on 550 of us in the parish, rather than the 12,000-plus passing through, it does not take a second to realise what the consequences would be.

"More people mean more vehicles and more vehicles mean an ever increasing need for car parking spaces," he said.

Mr Tym added that without more car parking, the upward trend would begin to reverse.

He concluded: "There's no use pretending that attractive small towns can stay exactly as they are; they are either becoming more successful, expanding in small but important ways and adapting to the success, or they are declining.

"I'd like to keep Stockbridge successful, but that will mean some changes to keep pace with and accommodate the success."

Now, Mr Tym wants Stockbridge's residents to go along to parish council meetings at the town hall this year to have their say.

The first of the year is next Thursday, January 17, at 7.30pm.

*What do you think about parking in Stockbridge? Do you visit the area? Add your comments below.