AFTER nearly six years of planning and negotiations, Calstock Parish Council has set a date to officially take over the management of the four car parks in the parish.

The plan for the parish council to take over the lease of three county council-owned car parks — Gunnislake, Harrowbarrow and Calstock Railway — and take over the freehold of Calstock Quay car park, has been in the pipeline for a number of years. It was agreed last year that the parish council would take over the leases and a date was set to go ahead, but the parish council and the county council had a few negotiations to ’iron out’, relating to costs.

Now however, the council is set to officially take over the leases and freehold of the car parks on March 16.

A spokesperson for the parish council said the move had been nearly six years in the pipeline.

With taking over the lease of Gunnislake car park, the parish council has agreed to reduce the current parking charges. Currently, Gunnislake Car Park is free to park in between 9am and 10am and after that is 40p for an hour and £1.20 for one to two hours.

The new charges will start from 9am and will provide free parking for the first two hours, with no return within four hours, and £3 all day parking.

Resident permits will also be available for £100 per year, based on postcode.

The closing date for permit applications will be February 29 and there will only be 25 available.

Visit www.calstockparishcouncil.org.uk to find out more or to contact the council.

See Thursday’s Times for the full report.