SINCE the introduction of the £2 for up to10 hours parking charges in the Mid Devon District Council run car park at St Saviour’s Way Crediton, the number of people parking there has dropped dramatically.

According to figures obtained by the Courier the number of tickets bought in the car park from April 1, 2015 to February 1, 2016 was 48,036.

From April 1, 2016 when the new charges were introduced to February 1, 2017 the number of tickets was 37,666.

Since the new charges were introduced 10,350 less cars have used the car park in the 10 months from April 1, 2016 to February 1, 2017.

But where did these cars go - did they park in residential areas or did they drive through Crediton without stopping?

And how has this affected the shops and businesses in the town?

Many of the people who are still using the car park are not happy about the current system of charging where all daytime tickets expire at one minute to six when the night time charges come into effect.

So if someone buys a £2 ticket at 5pm they will only get one hours parking and if they wish to stay longer they will then need to return to the car park at 6pm and purchase another ticket for £1, which will last until 8am.

This is not always convenient as many people work later than 6pm, have meetings or socialise in the town and would have to return to the car park to buy another ticket.

Crediton Mayor Cllr Frank Letch explained: "Equality in long stay car parks is clearly a myth.

"The sum of £2 in Tiverton gives you 14 hours with no cut-off restriction, whereas in Crediton the machine gives you from whenever you put your money in until 5.59pm.

"So if you put your money in at 5pm you will get less than one hours parking for £2.

Andrew Jarrett, head of finance at Mid Devon District Council told Cllr Letch and Cllr Bob Wright: "I’m not sure whether this is a problem or it just highlights that we have different charging periods/regimes between the long-stay car parks in Crediton/Cullompton as opposed to the multi-storey car park in Tiverton, which shuts between 8pm and 6am.

"The £2 a day tariff states it is "up to" 10 hours parking (ie a motorist would only get 10 hours of parking if they purchased their ticket at 8am).

"Any tickets purchased after 8am will only receive the difference between the time they purchased the ticket and 6pm.

"A motorist who purchases a ticket at 3pm in the afternoon only gets three hours of parking".

Many motorists who park in St Saviours car park are unaware that they may not get the full 10 hours for £2 or that they should return after 6pm to buy another ticket if they are staying beyond that time.

One local business owner told the Courier:

"I wasn’t aware of this and often work later than 6pm.

"If I’m in the middle of a job I wouldn’t be able to leave to put another ticket on.

"I’ve always said that £2 for 10 hours isn’t bad, but that is really unfair and destroys evening businesses, meetings and socialising in the town.

"I think it’s really naughty of Mid Devon and it encourages people to park in residential areas or avoid the town altogether."

CredFest runs in Crediton from June 3 to 24 and many extra people will be coming in to town to attend events during the afternoon/evenings and are advised to check the time their ticket runs out if they park in St Saviours Way car park.

By Nora Parminter