THE search to find a solution to the problem of finding a site for a badly-needed coach park in Okehampton will go on, town councillors were reassured this week by a leading borough officer.

Deputy chief executive of West Devon Borough Council David Inman attended the meeting of the town council on Monday to discuss issues relevant to both authorities.

There has been no dedicated coach parking area since Okehampton lost its car park in School Way when Waitrose was built four years ago.

Many traders in Okehampton believe revenue is being lost to the local economy each week because the town is still without a dedicated coach park.

West Devon Council currently has an arrangement with Tongue End Services to use their site on the edge of Okehampton for coach parking on a temporary basis.

There is also a temporary drop-off point for coaches close to the centre of the town in Market Street.

Mr Inman said one possibility was that some more permanent provision of coach parking spaces could be found in the future on an industrial estate.

He said coach firms from outlying areas might be interested in relocating to more central bases in Okehampton. This could be a double benefit, with arrangements made for other coach firms to make use of the parking spaces as well.

Cllr Charles Latchford told Mr Inman he felt the industrial estate was too far from the centre of town to be a practical coach parking facility.

Mr Inman conceded the industrial estate was ?farther away than is ideal?. He continued: ?We have had a number of stabs at this. The difficulty is, if you are talking of an area that is very close to the town centre, it will also be close to residents, who might not want coaches so close to them.

?We are happy to continue looking for a solution,? he added.

Mr Inman said while there was still £100,000 left over from the Waitrose receipt, the council could not commit any of this money to developing a new coach parking site before the new sports centre in Simmons Park was completed.

?The cost of these sort of projects can increase. We are worried about overspend on the sports complex. We need that cushion in place just in case,? said Mr Inman.

Councillors did raise the idea of two other possible coach parking sites: the West Devon Borough Council offices at Oaklands Drive and the Waitrose car park itself.

But Mr Inman said both sites had been discussed in the past and neither was really suitable.

?Coaches need an awful lot of space to move around. It is quite a tricky problem but we will continue to work on it,? he said.

Mr Inman also gave town councillors an update on the progress of the new £4.2-million sports centre in Simmons Park.

Ian Russell, of architects Burke Rickards showed councillors plans of the ambitious project which will include a new swimming pool, sports hall and fitness suite.

Mr Inman said the contractors were six to ten weeks behind schedule, and the council now hoped the centre would be completed at the end of July next year.

He also told councillors there had been some difficulty with the ground on which the new tennis courts were due to be built.

He said West Devon Council was now recommending a tripartite agreement be drawn up between the borough, Okehampton College and the town council to meet the long-term maintenance costs of the courts.