WEST Devon Borough Council will ’take into account’ the opinions of the local communities when discussing options for the proposal to increase car parking charges by £180,000.

The borough announced recently that it was looking to increase car parking income by £180,000 — and the West Devon Car Park Strategy Group had been tasked with coming up with ideas which could achieve the target.

At West Devon’s hub committee meeting on February 6, members of the council heard from Cllr Robert Sampson, lead member for commercial services for the borough, of the update on the situation following the strategy group’s meeting the day before.

He said: ‘There was, from business community representatives, considerable concern at the possibility of increases, although it was recognised that it was something West Devon had to look at.

‘The essence of it is that we [the strategy group] came away from the last meeting with some proposals based largely on a £2.50 all day tariff. The local opinion was that the £2 long stay should remain and in the context of Riverside Car Park, a reduction should be considered to encourage use there with an adjustment in the Mill Road tariff in Okehampton to improve usage there also.

‘Working through recommendations of the working group today, there was a shortfall from the £180,000.

‘Reworking them with £2.50 for long stay, Riverside remaining at £2 and consequential adjustments elsewhere delivers the increase and that projected income is seen as a reasonable adjustment of parking tariffs.

‘There was a proposal to look at a pilot for alternative arrangements including a reduction in Riverside Car Park but piloting is not a guarantee of success — although there was considerable support for the idea that reducing charges would increase take up. If there was a shortfall from piloting those ideas to reflect popular opinion, we may have to fall back on reserves if lower charges delivering greater income did not work.

‘There were very contrasting opinions expressed but there was a very positive feeling to it in that West Devon is wishing to take into account the communities where we have car parks and that is something that is valued and unusual. I regard this as a complicated situation but a positive one in terms of taking parking forward.’

But Tavistock’s Business Improvement District, Chamber of Commerce and local shop owners have all objected to the proposal to increase car parking charges.

Following the meeting, Lisa Piper, manager of Tavistock BID, said that the proposal was ‘rushed’.

‘If West Devon council proceed in their hurried efforts to raise tariffs, with the prime objective of fulfilling a budget deficit, we believe there could be significant repercussions for both the economic vitality of the town and local residents.

‘West Devon Borough Council has been extremely successful in generating increased revenue by decreasing car parking to £2 per day — so successful that even with 11,000 less ticket sales than three years previously, they still generated a record revenue total in 2016/17.

‘We fail to see how, when a decrease in charges has equalled an increase in revenue, the council now believes the opposite would be true.’

The topic will be discussed at the borough council’s next hub committee on March 13.