AFTER almost a year of dormancy and with a website not updated for some years, Crediton Chamber of Commerce is getting active again.

Regular meetings are to start again in February and Chamber will be doing its utmost to help find more space for car parking in the town, plus asking for parking on the town square itself.

One of its members, a former chairman and leader of the Chamber's promotion arm, Crediton Marketing and Management (CAMM), Tom Connell, said: "Chamber will do all it can to support free car parking in the town.

"We are more aware than most, of the desperate need for extra parking space to support businesses in the town.

"We need to work closely with Crediton Town Council (which Mr Connell joined at the end of last year) to promote and market our town.

"The potential is enormous for all businesses in the town and the trading estates. We now have two major supermarkets fighting to gain trade from each other.

"This will benefit all our businesses by bringing in extra potential customers. All we have to do is to make parking available and to market our town."

Mr Connell went on: "We can suggest further measures to make up for the loss of 40 spaces when Mid Devon District Council sold part of the Market Street car park for development.

"Nothing has yet been done by the district council, or any other body, to rectify this situation. We, that is the Chamber, suggest the town square be used temporarily for parking.

"Prior to the tragic death of Arthur Hall, Chamber was investigating the possibility of further housing and public car parking on a site near the town centre. This will be one of our projects for 2010.

"When, and if this is successful, the town square could revert to its present use with no car parking allowed on it."