THE long stay car parks in both Tavistock and Okehampton are to have new experimental pay and display charges for the next 12 months.

West Devon Borough Council has decided to introduce a flat £2, all-day fee for the Abbey, Bedford, the Wharf and Riverside car parks in Tavistock and Mill Road car park in Okehampton for the next year.

Mill Road's car park in Okehampton will also introduce a 50p tariff for users who want to park for half an hour.

For Tavistock drivers, the decision means a substantial reduction in the cost of all-day parking in its three long stay car parks, with the Abbey, Bedford and the Wharf car parks currently charging £6.50 for an all-day ticket.

It will see a 20p reduction in the all-day fee for the Riverside car park, though the shorter stay options at these car parks have been scrapped, including all tariffs under £2.

For those visiting Mill Road in Okehampton, the move sees a 20p reduction in the all-day tariff and the new half hour tariff, though the two hour £1.20 tariff has been scrapped.

The council has calculated the move will be neutral to the borough in terms of income and it is hoped that the cheaper all-day tariffs will encourage people to spend longer in the town centres and encourage trade locally.

During a special meeting of the borough council last week, Cllr Sue Bailey, ward member for Tavistock North and a member of the Tavistock BID board, said that businesses had been crying out for such a move and had been desperate for something to happen regarding Tavistock's parking charges.

West Devon Borough Council has spoken to Okehampton Chamber of Trade, Tavistock Chamber of Commerce and Tavistock BID, major supermarkets and Transition Tavistock during the scheme's development.

Cllr Kevin Ball, ward member for Okehampton East, said: 'We have all been there where you have put money in the machine and then had the stress of going to the shops and watching the clock, rushing to get back.

'This removes all that.

'Of course we will be monitoring this month on month to see if it does affect usage.

'If there are difficulties we can look to address them as this is only an experimental period for the time being.'

The scheme did come under some criticism, with some councillors feeling that the car park outside the Wharf should retain short stay charges for users of Meadowlands Leisure Centre.

Cllr Terry Pearce, ward member for Mary Tavy, said: 'The car park outside the Wharf should be a short stay car park. It often is busy with users of Meadowlands. I think this is crazy.

'If users of Meadowlands feel they can't park there because of people parking all day they could become irritated.

'It should be a short stay car park due to the user turn over in Meadowlands and the Wharf.

'It is as if we are trying to reduce people going to Meadowlands instead of trying to encourage users. It seems a very backward step to include the Wharf car park in this.'

The scheme was also accused of being restrictive to those wishing to park for shorter periods of time, despite the short stay car parks of both towns retaining their current parking tariffs.

Cllr David Cloke, ward member for Walkham, said: 'I use the Riverside car park and I know plenty of others who also use it, who just want to pay the £1.20 for two hours of parking.

'For those people it seems more like an increase of 80p rather than a reduction in the all-day fee.'