Tiverton could get cheaper car parking (From This is The West Country)

Tiverton could get cheaper car parking

5:00pm Friday 22nd June 2012 in Devon

PROPOSALS to offer cheaper parking in Tiverton may be approved by Mid Devon Council.

The council’s economic regeneration working group has recommended that reduced price season tickets for the town’s multi-storey car park should be offered at the end of this year.

The offer would last for three months and would bring the cost of parking down from £360 pro rata to £200.

It may also include concessions for buying more than one season ticket at a time.

Available capital funds should be used “as quickly as possible” to improve the appearance and ease of use of the multi-storey car park, the council should negotiate with businesses which may benefit from having a presence there, and new opportunities to use the car park for advertising should be pursued, the group’s report says.

It has also been suggested that the head of environmental services investigate the possibility of more attractive pricing for all currently under-used car parks.

Adopting more modern methods of payment in car parks, such as the scratch card system used in other parts of the country, has also been suggested.

It is hoped the suggestions will help fulfil the council’s need to find £120,000 of additional income over the next three years without needing to inc-rease parking charges.

A spokesman for the council said members of the working group had questioned whether increasing charges was the only way of raising the money or if it would even work.

He said: “It was felt that there was no guarantee that the additional income would be found via these means.

“They also questioned why the charges had to be fixed for three years. The group suggested that a more holistic approach should be taken with consideration given to alternative means of raising income.”

The suggestions will be put before the council’s scrutiny committee on June 25.