I HAVE every sympathy with town centre residents? wishes to be able to park safely and conveniently near to their homes and I hope a successful solution can be found for them. I am, however, deeply concerned for the continued welfare of Tavistock with the introduction of further parking restrictions. I refer to the recent public consultation at the town hall to consider the county?s proposals for the introduction of residents? parking in Tavistock and cannot help a certain feeling of ?déjà vu?! Many will remember a similar performance when we were ?consulted? about a new town centre square ? three proposals, all pretty much the same with no option to simply ?leave the town alone?. I recall Cllr Mathews? campaign with over 2,000 residents behind him being whitewashed by the county who, in my opinion, were hell-bent on spending some money. Well here we go again! From my discussions with the county?s representatives, it is plain to me that they have had little regard for the impact on trade within the town. If visitors, shoppers and traders are further discouraged from coming to Tavistock then the town has little future. Nor do they appear to have considered the consequential effects on Deer Park, Down Road, Whitchurch Road, Watts Road, Glanville Road, Treetops, and Redmoor which will pick up the new ?squeezed out? parking. In Tavistock ?the car? is not ?the star? and we find courtesies and patience long forgotten elsewhere. So how will this change when the county?s army of ?Meter Men? are dispatched to police the streets of Tavistock doling out £30 tickets in justification of their existence? And what will happen to the healthy respect we have for our own ?Dave the Traffic Warden?? He seems to be doing a pretty good job already! We?re still twinned with Pontivy aren?t we? Let?s take a leaf out of their book and make the town?s car parks free! Let?s have an objective survey of our streets and remove existing parking restrictions where they are not needed. Let us encourage people to the town and let Tavistock thrive. Oh ! and by the way Mr Men of the county, we do not regard Tavistock as being ?just a satellite town to Plymouth and Exeter? ? It?s very much more special ! Please don?t muck it up! Tim Baxter Tavistock IN last week?s letter page your correspondent, Mr Mathis challenged two local authorities to respond to his enquiry about the taxation position regarding workplace parking. At the present time Central Government does not tax any employees of businesses or authorities for the availability of workplace parking. In the case of the borough council, members did investigate a detailed study of the cost and benefits of introducing car park charges at Kilworthy Park. The conclusion reached was that as a result of the cost of machines and the enforcement of the charges this would result in a net cost to the council taxpayer. In reaching this conclusion the council had regard to the number of visitors to the council offices (eg to attend planning committee or to make an urgent housing enquiry) who would not be charged. Nor would councillors attending to represent their communities and public. Nor, indeed, would we wish to charge members of the voluntary and community groups who meet here, such as the youth band. Under national agreements staff who have to be in and out of the office as part of the work duties are also entitled to reasonable parking facilities. Incidentally, making the town car parks free would be of great disadvantage to the excellent shopkeepers of Tavistock, as they would be used by people working in the town, or living nearby, and there would be no ?turnover of spaces?. Cllr Dick Eberlie and Cllr Peter Hill, chairman and vice-chairman of West Devon Borough Council?s strategies and resources committee
