CAR parking fees in Tavistock and Okehampton will be frozen this year and season ticket prices reduced to encourage more use of the car parks and try to stop motorists parking on residential streets.

Season ticket sales in Tavistock town centre will drop by £320 to £400, the price of a ticket five years ago, a move which has been welcomed by the town's chamber of commerce.

Figures show that despite a rise in the prices in recent years, income has dropped by more than £12,000 on season tickets throughout the borough, in town centre, peripheral and rural car parks.

In 2007/08 a total of 66 season tickets were sold for Tavistock town centre but last year only 16 were sold.

But at West Devon's environment and community committee last week, member Alison Clish Green said she did not believe people who worked in Tavistock would pay to park at any price.

'With the economy the way it is people are just not going to do it,' she said. 'If I was someone working in Tavistock and I knew I could park in a residential street five minutes away, I would not buy a ticket even if it was reduced to £400.

'People have such tight finances that this is the sort of thing they are not going to do.'

Cllr Debo Sellis said people parking in the street and blocking residents' driveways was causing a lot of frustration and reducing the season ticket prices was the way to go. A season ticket for Tavistock's peripheral Riverside car park will cost £195 from April.

'Most people say to me they would be prepared to pay £200 a year — there is a great deal of potential if only we sell this.'

She added that an amendment to charge £600 for a season ticket in Tavistock town centre, which was the 2009/2010 price would be 'bonkers.'

Other councillors agreed that there needed to be a good marketing exercise to encourage people to buy car park season tickets.

It was also agreed that options to reduce the first hour's parking in Chagford and Hatherleigh would be looked at to encourage more 'pop and shop' visitors to the towns.

The recommendations to the council were made by the West Devon Car Parking Strategy Group.

Chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce Nigel Eadie said the decisions were just what the town needed: 'I know of lots of traders who buy season tickets and lots more will do so to avoid the inconvenience of parking on the streets if it is generally easier and cheaper to do so.'