INVESTIGATIONS into a residents? parking scheme in four areas of Tavistock are to be carried out after councillors gave the proposal the thumbs up at a meeting last week. West Devon?s highways and traffic orders committee agreed the feasibility of residents? parking in Bannawell Street, Chapel Street, Fitzford Cottages and Parkwood Road should be investigated, at a cost of £9,000. Brian George, local service officer, said residents in the four areas were concerned that they were unable to park their cars near their homes, due to commuters and shoppers taking up the spaces. Mr George warned that residents? parking schemes did not guarantee to provide a parking space ? they also needed to be self-financing. Mr George said: ?To be self-funding, any scheme will require sufficient income from residents? permit charges and or on-street pay and display charges to cover set-up, maintenance, administration and enforcement costs. ?If there were contributions from on-street pay and display charges, it is likely residents? permit fees could be in the £100 to £200 range per vehicle, per year.? Mr George said pay and display schemes could encourage greater turnover of parking spaces ? and they were much easier to police than limited waiting orders. Cllr Roy Connelly, who was a member of the parking focus group which was asking for the schemes to be investigated, said some sort of action had to be taken. ?We need to do something because things aren?t going to get any better,? he said. ?Car use is going to increase by 2.5% a year and also the local plan has another 600 houses for Tavistock, so that?s not going to help. ?Although the chamber of commerce has certain reservations in terms of charging, the business community is fully supportive. There is support there and to my mind, something needs to be done, it can?t be left any longer.? But Cllr Roger Mathew said he was ?sceptical? about residents? parking schemes. He said: ?There is already a great deal of displacement of vehicles and I am not at all convinced there will be anywhere for these displaced vehicles to go and that is likely to cause problems. The other grave doubt I have is justification. ?Houses are a good deal cheaper if they don?t have anywhere to put a car and I don?t really see any moral obligation for the rest of the community to subsidise them through pay and display schemes.? The committee agreed investigations should go ahead, including consultations with residents and trade organisations, and possibly involve sample surveys to assess parking habits. l See story page 7.
