Pay and display parking charges face rise in three Devon towns

Councillors said local people had been consulted over parking changes

Pay and display car park charges are set to be increased in three Devon towns.

Mid Devon District Council said it was looking to introduce a 6.7% rise on tariffs at several car parks in Cullompton, Crediton and Tiverton.

The cost for two hours' parking at nine car parks is set to increase from £2.70 to £2.90 in the coming weeks.

A final decision on the pay and display plans will be taken by the council's cabinet during a meeting next month.

The authority said it was also looking at a wider range of time tariffs at car parks that would enable people to pay for up to five hours.

Six car parks in Tiverton - Wellbrook Street, Beck Square, Market Place, Westexe South, William Street and the multi-storey in Phoenix Lane - are involved.

Changes at Station Road in Cullompton and Crediton's High Street and Market Street car parks are also being planned.

'More shoppers' variety'

As part of the changes discussed by the council's economy policy development group, shoppers in Crediton would have the choice of parking for between up to one hour, through to up to five hours, with 10-hour and 24-hour tariffs available beyond that, the council said.

Only one-hour, two-hour, 10 and 24-hour tariffs are available at present.

Similarly in Crediton High Street, where only two, five, 10 and 24-hour tariffs were available, one-hour through to five hours would be on offer, as well as 10 and 24-hour tariffs, officials said.

Tiverton's Wellbrook Street and Market Place would also benefit from additional choices.

Proposals for free parking on five Saturdays before Christmas in Tiverton's multi-storey car park, Crediton High Street and Cullompton's Station Road between 23 November and 21 December were also approved by the cabinet.

'Consultation with locals'

Charge increases were implemented last June, having been agreed by the former Conservative-led administration two months before the Liberal Democrats took control in the local elections in May.

The council heard concerns about those rises because of a "lack of input" from local representatives.

Councillor Steve Keable, cabinet member for economic regeneration, said the new set of changes had been considered "in consultation with local communities".

He continued: "The car parking charges we inherited seemed to be odd and random, lacking in common sense.

"People who wanted to pop into their town centre for half an hour were facing parking charges that started at two hours."

Mr Keable said an inflationary rise had been included on tariffs that already existed.