THE FIGHT against parking meters is to be stepped up as towns across the county join forces with Tavistock in protest.

The Mayor of Tavistock David Whitcomb, together with the mayors of Okehampton, Honiton, Sidmouth, Kingsbridge and Dartmouth will be lobbying county hall in Exeter in the next few weeks to try and stop the proposals.

Mr Whitcomb said it was a show of solidarity to let the council know that the installation of parking meters in the six towns would kill the retail trade 'stone dead.'

He said: 'I am delighted that the other towns affected by this all agree with us that it is not the right thing to do. We hope to go en-masse and meet with the leader of the council to show him the strength of feeling. People are very angry that there has been no consultation.'

Devon County Council is aiming to install the on-street pay and display systems 'as soon as practicable' and has advertised traffic orders to that effect.

Following an extraordinary meeting of Tavistock Town Council last week, where many members of the public vented their frustrations over the scheme, town councillors have written to the county council requesting that it abandons the proposals.

At the meeting, town trader Robert Oxborough called for 'joined-up thinking' regarding parking and its enforcement.

He said free parking for only 30 minutes would not be long enough for people to 'pop and shop' and ultimately, shoppers would go to out of town supermarkets where parking was free.

Mr Oxborough said: 'This is really about finding a way to wring money out of the local economy. Whichever way you cut this, it's going to put additional pressure on town traders.'

Resident Andy Hutton said he had only moved to Tavistock four weeks ago.

'I have come from a market town — about 12 years ago we had exactly this situation. They charged 10p for the first half hour — then Tesco came — now there's no butcher, no baker and the town is full of second-hand shops. This is exactly what you are in danger of here,' he said.

Resident Tim Baxter said he originally came from a town with free on-street parking and a big, free, car park behind the town centre — the town was booming. Pontivy, Tavistock's twin town, had free parking. It too, was booming.

'To introduce charges for parking on-street in Tavistock isn't just detrimental to traders, it could be the finish of many of them. People will go out of town,' predicted Mr Baxter.

Nigel Eadie, chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce, said the county council claimed it wanted to introduce on-street parking charges 'after consultation with local businesses'.

He said: 'There's been no dialogue whatsoever between Devon County Council and the business community — none whatsoever.

'It's absolutely a fait accompli — I think they are talking about introducing these as soon as the beginning of January — it's very anti-business, it's outrageous,' he said.

Bannawell Street resident Jeff Moody said he had been fighting for years to introduce a residents' parking scheme but had always been told it could only be considered if there was on-street parking in Tavistock to pay for its enforcement — yet the new proposals did not even mention such a scheme. The new proposals would make life even more difficult for residents in areas like Bannawell Street, he said.

Kay Bickley, an Okehampton town councillor, urged 'a seismic reaction' by Tavistock and Okehampton, in order to get the proposed traffic orders abandoned.

She said: 'I am not fooled for one moment that this is anything to do with traffic management. It's being rushed in and pushed through — it's about plugging a large hole in the county's car parking enforcement account. I don't find that acceptable.'

Alex Mettler questioned the county's methods, claiming people were being asked to comment on a proposal that had no detail of the type or number of meters being proposed, no conservation area impact assessment, and no supporting data.

'You are not giving us a fair or reasonable consultation,' he said.

Tavistock councillor Anne Johnson said in 2009 she was told it would cost £70,000 to introduce on-street parking as part of a resident's parking scheme — last Monday she was told £21,000, and that night, £40,000.

'There are no proper figures, no proper costings, you are not listening to grass-root objections — it's just not good enough,' she said.

Hilary Sanders said the county's financial predictions regarding income from on-street parking were 'confusing and probably spurious', as they were based on towns completely different to Tavistock.

She suggested working with the other towns to fight the scheme.

Tavistock councillor Brian Trew said Tavistock was being used as a 'milk cow' by the county council, while Cllr Harry Smith slammed the county cabinet's actions as 'a diabolical liberty'.

Chris Rook, the county's traffic engineer, confirmed that 14 meters had been ordered for Tavistock, serving 115 spaces.

'The machines are as compact and sympathetic as they can be — the initial feedback in Totnes was actually that we had hidden them,' said Mr Rook, who said any installation would take place in consultation with West Devon's conservation office.

But Cllr Adam Bridgewater, West Devon's conservation champion, said so far, he had had no consultation whatsoever regarding placement of meters in Tavistock.

Today (Thursday) is the last day that objections relating to the traffic order amendment can be submitted.