East Devon District Council encourages shoppers and visitors with reduced parking charges

Motorists in East Devon will soon be able to take advantage of cut price parking deals around the district as several trial offers get underway.

Axminster, Honiton, Sidmouth and Exmouth are all set to benefit from deals in specific local car parks aimed at encouraging longer visits to town centres and visitor attractions.  It’s part of a trial which aims to find out what long term parking offers the council might be able to make.  It aims to boost local trade and keep high streets healthy whilst not reducing the parking income it receives, as this is used to fund essential local services and keep Council Tax the lowest in Devon.

For six months from Good Friday (29 March 2013) people can look forward to:

•Axminster and Honiton – all car parks

Weekend Special – Park for just £1 from 3pm on any Saturday until 8am the following Monday.

•Sidmouth Ham

Buy 3 hours parking, get the 4th hour free.

This is for cash or mobile phone payments only, and does not apply to permit holders.

•Exmouth Maer Road

Cut price parking – charges halved to just 50p per hour up to a maximum of £3 for 6 - 24 hours. Perfect for Easter and Summer Holiday seafront visitors.

The offers have been created in consultation with Town Councils and local Chambers of Trade following requests from Chambers of Trade for fresh parking incentives.  The results of the trials will be closely charted so the council can decide whether or not it can make the offers available in more places and/or as a permanent deal.

Cllr Phil Twiss, EDDC’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“This is good news for residents and visitors which we hope will encourage more people to come and enjoy our towns, seafronts, shops and attractions over the busy summer months.

“We want to make sure people get a great deal from East Devon, and this trial will help us find out if we can afford to run these offers in the longer term and in more places.  We do have to generate enough money from parking to keep services running and Council Tax frozen.  Hopefully these offers will be the best of both worlds: more people parking, lower costs for motorists and the same income to support local services.”

Meanwhile people who use East Devon’s off-street car parks regularly and want year-round good value are being encouraged to purchase parking permits.  East Devon’s permits remain among the cheapest like-for-like in the county, despite a recent 10% - 15% increase in cost across its range of permits.

Permits include town and local area options, district wide parking or a mixture of unlimited parking in a specific town or area and limited parking elsewhere, with even the most expensive option costing just over £3.50 per week, about the price of a pint of beer.

Available annual permits are:

•Town/Area Permit at £120 (or £73 for 6 months)

•Economy Permit at £154 (or £91 for 6 months)

•East Devon District Permit £185 (or £106 for 6 months)

•Residents Permit £35

People can buy permits online at

www.eastdevon.gov.uk/carpark_permits or by phone on 01395 571780.