CAR parking charges in Simmons Park, Okehampton, are due to increase for the first time in 25 years.

Okehampton Town Council agreed this week to bring charges in line with other car parks in the area to cover expenses incurred in the upkeep of the site.

It is proposed to increase the two-hour charge from 20p to 60p and bring in charges for 30-minute and one-hour stays of 20p and 40p respectively. The all-day charge of 60p will rise to £2.80.

Cllr Perry Vallance, who proposed the move, said the upkeep of the car park was currently added to people's council tax bills. One of the main costs to be found at the moment was the replacement of the ticket machine which had been vandalised.

'Thirty per cent of the Okehampton population do not have a car so they should not be footing the bill for car park maintenance,' he said.

'We are not trying to hold people to ransom but we need to find the money somewhere and if you go to any park these days you are expected to pay normal parking charges — there has not been an increase at Simmons Park since the 1970s.'

West Devon Borough Council staff would patrol the site and any fines would go directly to the authority.

He said for people who regularly used the car park there were special season tickets which worked out at £2.50 a week, and parking was free in the evenings, Saturday afternoons, Sundays and public holidays.

'The majority of people who use the park will go at weekends with their families and they will not have to pay for parking.' he said. 'The early morning and late night swimmers will also benefit.

'If people want to spend an hour walking around our beautiful park during the week I do not think 40p is a lot to pay anyway.'

Cllr Vallance said the car park would now be geared towards short-stay visitors with long-stay visitors encouraged to use the borough council's Mill Road Car Park where the all-day charge was £1.

But Cllr Bill Bourne, who was the only member to vote against raising the charges, said there were so many restrictive car parking areas in the town centre now the move might put people off coming to Okehampton.

'I believe there should be somewhere near the town centre like Simmons Park where it is a reasonable price to park,' he said.

The traffic order will be advertised for three weeks during which time people have a chance to put forward representations.