I took part in Thursday's van demonstration and thought it well-attended and good-humoured, causing a minimum amount of disruption.

Well done to those at Traders Against Parking Persecution (Tapp) who set it up at short notice.

If Brighton and Hove City Council bothered to take heed, there should be no reason to repeat such a demonstration but I don't hold out much hope.

Councillors must understand the function of small businesses and, especially, tradespeople. There are hundreds of small businesses in Brighton and Hove employing thousands of local people (all local taxpayers) yet our needs are always ignored.

Tradespeople are vital to ensure the city remains a beautiful place. Without us, it will slowly deteriorate. Parts of London are in crisis now because nobody will work in them. Do we really want that repeated in Brighton and Hove? I hope not.

Just because we drive vans to make a living, we should not be treated as pariahs or targets for revenue-raising. We should be given incentives, not penalties for working here. The TAPP demonstration was a wake-up call. The city needs us.

-Peter McMullen, Pyromania Fireplaces, Westbourne Place, Hove