Residents and business people who opposed Powys County Council's proposals for parking restrictions along a number of streets in Crickhowell have won the day. Local county councillor John Morris has described it as 'a very healthy outcome for democracy'. But there is still anger at the way the Welsh Assembly Government has over-ruled objections to plans to restrict and prohibit parking in laybys on the A40 and in Beaufort Street. A report to the meeting of the council's Brecknockshire Committee last week from the Road Safety and Traffic Systems Manager acknowledged the 'overwhelming number of objections' to the parking restriction proposals in the town centre and it was agreed that most should be withdrawn and others modified.   In total there were 1,900 registered objections, including letters from the town council and local civic society and signatures on an on-line petition. One of the campaigners Roger White said, "Full credit to Powys County Council for acknowledging the strength of objections to their original proposals. It's just a pity they didn't do their homework properly in the first place! "The county council has now reached sensible decisions for the residential areas. "I wish I could say the same for the Welsh Assembly Government whose dubious use of ministerial powers on the A40 laybys falls far below the standards one expects to find in Government." As a result of last week's meeting, proposals to prohibit parking in Castle Road, Bridge Street, Lamb Lane and Cwmbeth Close have all been completely withdrawn.  In Llanbedr Road the parking prohibition will be limited to the bottom of the road where it joins the A40, and the proposals for further up the road have been withdrawn.  In Everest Drive the prohibition will only apply from 8am to 5pm on weekdays and will be limited to the turning area.  At the entrance to Beacons Court, where there are problems of access, the proposed prohibition will go ahead unchanged. The proposal for the High Street provided a short length of additional parking for visitors by allowing limited waiting for one hour along a short length outside Latham House where parking at present is prohibited. This proposal will be implemented. County Councillor Morris, who sits on the Brecknockhsire Committee said, "I'm very pleased with the outcome. I think it's a fair result which takes into account the views of the community, the town council and the civic society. "I think people may have got the wrong end of the stick, however, thinking that the parking restrictions were going to be imposed by the county council when in fact there was always going to be consultation. "It's a different story with the Welsh Assembly Government, which has decided to impose parking restrictions in the A40 laybys when it would be far better to restrict trading there by introducing by-laws." Objections to the proposals for the laybys were passed on from the county council to the Welsh Assembly Government because it is responsible for all trunk roads in Wales.  WAG decided, however, to over-rule the objections and implement the orders.  "We understand that the reason why the Minister ordered the closure of the layby near Castle Road, for example, was to stop it from being used for the sale of burgers and cups of tea. "But we think any such problem should be addressed to the owner of the burger van, not by closing the whole layby," said County Councillor Morris. The Brecknockshire Committee were concerned, he said, that the Welsh Assembly Government had not applied such draconian measures in other towns and felt that it was an 'inconsistent and inappropriate use of Ministerial powers'. "The committee, at my request, will be sending a letter to the Minister Edwina Hart asking whether closing laybys on trunk roads is now the policy all over Wales. "Tourists areas already suffer from lack of available parking. We want to know why Crickhowell is being picked on in this way or whether this could now happen anywhere in Wales," he said.