shoppers and traders warn that imposing street parking charges in Tavistock would be bad for business.

The county council has warned on-street parking charges could be introduced as one of the measures to reduce its budget deficit.

John Baldwin, owner of Baldwin Jewellers, opposes any street parking charges because it could deter some impulse and short-term shoppers. He said traffic management was the best way of dealing with drivers parking in the wrong places or for too long.

He said: ‘I’ll definitely fight any street parking charges. This seems like a way of milking the motorist with no benefit for the town. It will put off our customers who only come here for a short time. They will drive round and if there’s only charged spaces they will drive on and go and take their business somewhere else. I’ve already had people say to me this week they couldn’t find a space near us, so they said they’d come back another day.

‘People won’t park a bit of a walk away in the Riverside or Wharf car parks when they’re only stopping for a little while and even less likely if they have to pay.’

He suggested more sensible parking regimes and sites for people who work in the town, freeing up spaces for shoppers.

‘At the moment, car parks can be full from early on in the day because employees take up spaces. That reduces the choices for customers. If shoppers’ only obvious alternative is street parking with charges, they won’t come into Tavistock. ‘Employees are obviously very important, so affordable parking on sites a reasonable walk away would be a good idea, giving shoppers and other visitors on business, a good choice.’

He predicted parking metres all over the town centre would not only look bad amid the historic architecture, but would be unnecessary when the current time-limited parking worked well. He said street parking would also require a costly administration and be self-defeating as income generation.

Mel Gandy, of the newly opened Gin Boutique, said: ‘Charging would be the death of small independent businesses like us who cannot subsidise any losses if impulse shoppers are put off. Our typical customers come for a short browse and nothing specific and find the unexpected to buy. Even if they don’t buy anything, they will come back. People are already counting the pennies and having to pay for parking will be the last straw, when they’re making non-essential purchases.’

Nikki Turner, manager of the Kilworthy Kapers health food shop, said: ‘We have loyal customers and there’s been no parking charges for 31 years. But in a recession it could kill custom.’

Graham George, a Tavistock resident, said: ‘There’s already a parking shortage. If it’s not easy and free to park, then people will go somewhere else and the obvious choice is supermarkets.’

Visiting shopper Martin Middlewick, from near Truro, said: ‘As a visitor the most important thing is to find the nearest main car park, so you don’t have to worry about on-street spaces or added costs. It’s always more expensive to pay to park on the streets, so would put me off.’