Anger at motorcycle charges

Motorcyclists say parking tickets will be lost

A Devon council is about to charge motorcyclists to park in places where they have previously left their machines for nothing.

North Devon District Council has installed special ticket machines for motorbikes at two of its main car parks in Barnstaple.

It has caused anger among many motorcyclists who say the council should be encouraging more motorists to turn to two wheels to ease traffic congestion.

But Dave Butt, vice chairman of the council's executive committee, said motorcyclists should welcome the changes.

Traffic 'nightmare'

He said: "We're leading the way in providing proper motorcycling facilities.

"It's costing us £6,000 to do this in two of our car parks and it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that a motorcyclist should pay for that facility in the same way that people in a car park do.

"It's 20p an hour or £1 a day and that does not seem too excessive to me for proper facilities."

But Barnstaple businessman and biker Steve Dayman said: "Driving in Barnstaple is a nightmare and this kind of thing will only make things worse."

He added that motorcyclists could not display a ticket securely.

"How do you display a ticket on a bike without it being taken off?

"It's typical of the council, it's so short-sighted. They should be encouraging people to switch to scooters or motorcycles, not putting them off."