I can see just two places in the Lynn Street car park opposite the taxi rank, less than a handful of empty spaces in the centre of the Market Square, with one car arriving while another leaves and a third manoeuvring into a space.

There are very few spaces round the edge of the Market Square and parked cars extend all the way down to the Pightle too. So, the town looks full up.

A couple of months ago I attended a breakfast meeting attended by owners and representatives from many of the town's businesses.

One of their main concerns was parking. Success breeds success, they say, and you might think that they would be happy with full car parks.

Full car parks mean full shops. Full shops means money is being spent and that means businesses can expand. Growing businesses means more work for local people.

It's got to be a good thing, a virtuous rather than vicious circle, as the local people then come and spend their money in the shops.

The trouble is that that circle doesn't work for every business. It's all very well having full car parks, but if they're full where do more customers come from? If you only want to dash in as you pass will you bother to stop if you can't get close to the shop?

Will you even come to town if you fear the car parks will be full when shopping for something that takes time and needs more thought. You might well go to Lynn or Dereham instead.

So was the town really full when I did the count of parking spaces? Not a bit of it! A look at the Theatre Street car park revealed that there's just a handful of cars in it. I didn't count them but there's probably more than 100 empty spaces there.

So why isn't the Theatre Street car park used? Many of the traders at the meeting blamed inadequate signs. You can sympathise with that view for the businesses attracting the tourist.

Visitors are unlikely to find it without help and, anyway, they will need more than the 30 minutes allowed in most of the other spaces in town.

Some blamed local councillors who didn't want any more modern signs that destroyed the Georgian look of the town.

Me, I blame the locals who know that it is there, but don't like to walk the extra 100 yards.