Dartmouth Town Council have strongly voiced their opposition to Devon County Council’s proposals to install parking meters across the town. 

The County Council has laid out plans to implement pay and display parking in small towns across the county. Which either have very little or do not have any parking meters at all. The rationale behind their decision is to manage congestion, improve air quality, maintain reasonable access to properties across the town and improve the availability of short term bays.

Cllr Mike Rowley of Dartmouth Town Council, described their rationale as “nonsense” and “contrary”.

The parking bays will come under the control of Devon County Council and all of the money gained will go straight back to County Hall in Exeter.

Dartmouth Town Council have voiced their strong opposition to the proposals to Devon County Council numerous times.

Devon County Council made the proposals in November 2022 without consultation with the prospective towns. The other towns included in the proposals are Braunton, Crediton, Honiton, Okehampton, Salcombe, Sidmouth and Tavistock.

The council’s consultation opened last week, and residents can publicly state their opposition or agreement with the proposals. A decision will be made by the Devon County Council’s cabinet in March 2024.

After the resident’s consultation period Devon County Councils cabinet will decide on whether to put the proposals in place. Dartmouth Town Council have already published a survey for residents to make their voices heard, from the 380 responses 87% said no to the current proposals from Devon County Council.

Teddy Cranmer, who is running a campaign against the proposals, has been in Dartmouth all week collecting signatures for his petition against the proposals. Over the weekend he had already collected 352 signatures from residents of Dartmouth.

The proposals set out will change all the bays in the centre of Dartmouth on North Embankment, Spithead, The Quay, Mayors Avenue and College Way.

Cllr Mike Rowley said of the current proposals: “Dartmouth Town Council believes these on-street parking proposals will do significant damage to the town’s retail, tourism and hospitality economy by discouraging visitors, shoppers and workers from coming into the town centre. This is especially significant as the Park and Ride has no bus service to the town centre out of season. Many of our residents in the central town have no off-street parking therefore these TROs will significantly inconvenience them. It is particularly detrimental at a time of high commercial rents and business rates such that we already see empty shops in our town centre.

“This is a top-down, simplistic and imposed proposal that is designed to increase revenue and make enforcement easier for DCC but does nothing to solve the parking issues Dartmouth faces, indeed it will exacerbate them and cause immense harm to the town’s prosperity. This is not the first time that DCC has attempted to impose on-street parking charges on Dartmouth and met with determined opposition. If Cllr. Hughes and DCC are under the delusion that Dartmouth is going to meekly acquiesce this time they are seriously mistaken. Dartmouth is going to fight this with every means at our disposal.”