OKEHAMPTON'S shopkeepers fear thousands of pounds are being lost to the economy each week because the town still has no dedicated coach park.

The town's chamber of trade is continuing to press West Devon Borough Council for a permanent facility to stop coaches bypassing Okehampton.

The town lost its coach park in School Way when Waitrose was built three years ago.

Chairman of the chamber Ian Bailey said it was an annual problem that needed to be sorted once and for all.

He said: 'Due to investigations by the chamber last year we managed to get a temporary coach park at the back of Peacocks so the borough council could have a bit of breathing space.

'However, nothing seems to have happened since then.

'The last figures we had for how much is spent in the town from coach stops was £6 a head.

'When you start multiplying that by 50 for each coach it works out to a lot of money we are losing.'

Mr Bailey said between three and six coaches a day were stopping in Okehampton when it had a permanent coach park.

Although a drop-off point had been set up by the borough council in Market Street, the solution everyone wanted was a dedicated space where coaches could park and drivers could take a break for a cup of coffee, use the toilets etc.

'We want to do all we can to attract coach drivers here, especially after the terrible year we had in 2001 with foot and mouth,' he said.

'If they have nowhere to park up they are just going to go on to the next town.'

Deputy chief executive of the borough council David Inman said the coach bay had been installed in Market Street as part of the enhancement works in Okehampton, and it was being used.

He said last year's temporary coach park was subsidised by a number of sources, including First Direct which parked its buses overnight, but the same package was not available this year.

'We are talking to the South West Regional Development Agency over the possibility of providing a coach park in the North Road area,' he said.

There are also plans to use Okehampton Station car park as a stop-off point, but a permanent facility was unlikely to happen this year.

'The difficulty is that land is expensive, and obviously we have to try and find an arrangement that fits in with us on budgetary terms,' he said.

'In the meantime the drop-off point is being used so the situation is better than it was before.'