TRADERS in the town have rejected the idea of an ‘Okehampton pound’ as part of efforts to revitalise the town centre.

The idea of a special currency was dismissed as unaffordable at a public meeting in the Charter Hall on Wednesday last week (January 23).

However, residents and businesspeople agreed more needed to be done to encourage locals and tourists to spend money in the town centre.

Paul Vachon is proposing the marketing venture, provisionally titled Prosper Okehampton, to counteract the threat of online shopping.

He is suggesting that the currency could be used in part payment at participating shops.

However, one audience member said it would not be workable for businesses which were already struggling.

‘Basically, you are asking businesses that are already stretched to give a discount,’ he said.

And Derek Ellis, 81, who has lived in Okehampton all his life, said: ‘We haven’t got the money here, how much is all this going to cost?’

He said problems with traffic congestion needed to be resolved first.

‘That’s why people aren’t coming into Okehampton,’ he said. ‘You come in here from quarter to three to quarter to four and it’s gridlocked. You’ll take an hour and a half to get from Giblands Park into the town.’

Rents for shops in the town were too high, he added.

‘Where are the main landlords tonight to answer to all the rents that people are paying?’

Read the full story in this week’s Okehampton Times, available in shops now until Thursday.