SURELY there has been an overall decrease in parking places (on and off road) within five minutes walk of the town centre since the Bedford Square/Duke Street redevelopment took place. Recently, local businessmen have been justifiably alarmed by the increasing amount of double yellow lines in this area combined with increased parking charges.

Like it or not, local businesses, and thus the whole shopping environment which has made Tavistock the best market town in the country, depend on shoppers being able to park their cars within a reasonable walk of their furthest destination.

If they have a ten-minute walk and find they can buy what they want more easily elsewhere, they will no longer patronise Tavistock.

Adequate parking is therefore essential to prevent the town becoming similar to others, dominated by banks, building societies, estate agents, charity shops with a few multiples. Does anyone want that?

A multi-storey car park near the town centre therefore does have its merits, but one in Bedford Car Park would be a horrendous eyesore, even if camouflaged, looming over the river, the most attractive feature of Tavistock, and dominating the buildings around.

A better, tucked away site would be at the existing Whitchurch Road car park near Abbey Bridge. I know this site would be smaller, and would present some problems as it slopes, but it is near the town centre, and would not stand out as it would be back against the side of a steep embankment.

I guess that three stories could provide an extra 120 spaces. During the summer it would be completely screened from Bedford Square and the river below Abbey Bridge by trees. It will of course still need some camouflage (Hurdwick facing stone and some greenery?) and designed to minimise the activities which, regrettably, go on in Bedford Car Park at present.

The planners will probably say that to build such a small multi-storey is uneconomic but I cannot think of a better site, and I believe we should be looking to preserve the existing landscape within the town as much as possible, and getting car parks to fit into it.

Keith Bowles

12 St. David?s Road

Tavistock