People living and working in Falmouth who have concerns over parking in the town, whether it's the cost of it, the lack of it or the proliferation of it in certain areas, are being urged to have their say by completing Cornwall Council's survey.

In the first two weeks of the survey going live, over 4,000 people from across the county have given their views so far, either online or by completing a paper version of the questionnaire. The council is now inviting people to have their say face to face with representatives from FieldForce who will be in Falmouth this Friday, February 12, then next Monday, Friday, Saturday and Tuesday, February 15, 19, 20 and 23.

The FieldForce operatives, working on behalf of Cornwall Council, will be coming to Falmouth town centre on the five days and will be randomly asking people for their opinions.

The issue of the cost of car parking was raised this week at a meeting of the Association of Falmouth Traders where one business owner claimed the town was home to "the most expensive car park in Cornwall, pro rata."

BID manager, Richard Wilcox stressed the importance of completing the questionnaire. "It is imperative that you all get involved with the parking review," he told traders. "It's important that everyone does it (takes part) so we have the strength of voice."

Among the things asked in the review are: do you experience difficulties parking on-street near your home or business? Do vehicles parked all day make it difficult to access short stay parking near shops? Do you think there is a need for more loading bays for businesses?

Bert Biscoe, Cornwall Council cabinet member for transport, said: “The response to the survey so far indicates great interest and a desire to try and find solutions to problems. The solutions will not be solutions unless everybody agrees they are solutions.

“In doing this survey we are all contributing to understanding the problem. It is very important that in understanding the problem and finding the solutions we look at the whole-town picture, rather than dealing with one issue at a time.”

WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff will be collating and analysing the survey responses, on behalf of the council. The results will be presented to the council’s transport policy advisory committee in May and will be used to identify parking proposals for the town which could be implemented as early as autumn 2017.

The surveys run until midnight on February 28 2016 and can be found at cornwall.gov.uk/parkingreview.