Drivers condemn two-tier parking levy in tourist town as visitors get slapped with ‘unreasonable’ price hikes

WSDrivers visiting a popular seaside town in the South West face paying £2 more than locals under new controversial parking charges planned for next year.

It comes after South Hams District Council proposed charging tourists £10 for a full day’s parking at Salcombe Creek car park, while local residents would pay a reduced rate of £8.

The new pricing structure which could come in April 2025 has sparked concerns from businesses in Salcombe, a town often dubbed “Chelsea-on-Sea” due to its popularity with wealthy visitors.

Local residents will need to apply for a special discount to access the lower rate, which will be available across the district’s council-owned car parks.

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The planned increase marks the first change to parking rates in the area in more than four years, with current charges set at £6.50 for a full day at Salcombe Creek car park.

The proposed £10 rate for visitors represents a significant rise of more than 50 percent from the existing fee. The changes will affect parking across the district, with the council implementing a two-tier pricing system to differentiate between locals and tourists.

Under the plans, drivers without smartphones will receive an extra half hour of parking time instead of accessing the resident discount through the council’s cashless parking app.

But business owners have warned the new charges could harm the local economy, with some already feeling the impact of parking challenges.

Jude Macintosh, manager of the Ship in Dock Inn, told the Telegraph that parking in Salcombe and nearby Dartmouth was already a “constant headache” and raising prices wouldn’t attract guests.

“Our bookings have gone down by a third because now we don’t provide permits. We took it away because we can’t afford to carry that cost,” she said.

Macintosh questioned the fairness of offering residents cheaper rates, while highlighting how the councils were “just trying to keep people away because they are not doing anything – as in parking – to entice them.”

Local business owners have also raised concerns about how the new pricing system will be enforced.

One person warned: “How are they going to know if the car is not local? It can have a car plate from London but the person being from here.”

There are also fears about the impact on high street businesses with a Totnes business owner stating that “if parking is raised [by] an amount which is unreasonable, I am afraid that people might not buy from the High Street. I think that the footfall decreases because of the lack of spaces and the pricing.”

But the council defended the proposed changes, saying it was “regretfully considering” the increases after comparing rates across the South West.

A council spokesman said their review showed that “car parking charges in the South Hams are lower than most” similar locations across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset.

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The resident discount scheme will be implemented through the council’s cashless parking app across all council-owned car parks. The public has until January 5 to respond to the consultation, with a final decision expected later that month.