A GROUP of Okehampton residents have organised a petition protesting the decision by West Devon Borough Council to approve coach parking bays in Mill Road Car Park.

Five residents concerned about the decision to create two parking bays for coaches in the car park have teamed up to protest the decision.

The group states that the coach parking provision is unsuitable for the site, fearing that the car park entrance is not wide enough to ensure safe passage for coaches.

The borough council has talked to the business located at the entrance to the car park and arranged alternative parking for its vehicles. Engineers assessed the suitability of the site and a coach driver also worked with the borough council to carry out testing which involved driving onto the site and parking up.

Edna Hicks, one of the residents involved with the petition, said: 'There is a lot of opposition in the town. I have spoken to taxi drivers and people who know the road well and they have been signing the petition. That says a lot.

'The access into the car park is the problem. With the business located at the entrance to the car park, lorries still have to load and unload there. It's just common sense.

'We feel that the police should have been consulted and the public should have been consulted before the coach spaces were ever painted.'

Devon County and West Devon Borough Councillor Kevin Ball said: 'The town has been calling for a place to enable visiting coaches to park for many years. We recognise that Mill Road car park isn't perfect, however, it does provide a decent solution near the centre of town.

'We would be happy to monitor the usage and ensure that there isn't any problems.'

A spokesman for West Devon Borough Council said: 'We provided the coach parking at the request of stakeholders in the town, including the town council. We acknowledge that it isn't ideal, but it is the only area we have which is large enough for coaches and has been assessed as safe to use. 

'The town were keen to have use of the facility during last summer, which is why the coach parking bays were provided in advance of the public consultation exercise.  However, the public consultation will now run for 21 days from November 6 and the borough council will carefully consider the responses it receives before making any decisions on the long-term future of the coach parking bays.'