Parking charge hike proposed for Torridge seaside beauty spots

A significant hike in car parking charges are being proposed for Northam Burrows Country Park, Appledore and Westward Ho! main car park during the holiday season.

The proposal from Torridge District Council, to be decided at a meeting on Monday (November 16) could see the parking cost at the Burrows rise £2 a day to £10 during June, July and August and the main car park at Westward Ho! Increased by 60p to £2.60 an hour.

The council says it needs to raise £300,000 to help plug a predicted budget gap of £1.6million next year.

Off peak, Westward Ho! Would see a 40p increase to £2.40 during the shoulder seasons of April, May, September and October.

At Appledore, charges could rise from £1.60 to £2.20 an hour in the summer and from £1.60 to £1.80 during the spring and autumn.

There would be no change to the winter rates and Northam Burrows would remain free in the winter and £8 in the spring and autumn.

Members of the council’s community and resources committee will be asked to approve the recommendations from the budget working group at their meeting on Monday.

Car parking income for the district council has risen by £20,000 in the last two years, bringing in £2m in the last financial year from more than 770,000 visits, a record amount. It’s the council’s largest discretionary income stream.

A report to the committee says for the 2026/27 financial year the Westward Ho! car park hourly rate rose by 11% to £2. There was no visible reduction in demand and visitor numbers continued to grow.

Most of the additional income from coastal car parks in summer was paid by visitors rather than residents, it said.

The report added: “Parking is a small part of the cost of a family day at the beach, typically £80 to £150, and does not determine visit decisions.

“The working group therefore looked at charges that target the tourist peak while protecting residents and local businesses outside it.”

The increases would bring in an additional £300,000.

Other plans to address the budget shortfall include a £10 hike in the garden waste subscription to £67, making an £86,000 in revenue.

And savings of £900,000 are expected from removing schemes from the capital programme which includes projects that were approved but never delivered over the last nine years.

Targets will be set to get an additional £300,000 in planning income but this depends on the wider economy so is less certain. An increase in planning fees will be set nationally.

At £1.6m the budget gap is more than 10 per cent of the council’s net revenue budget of approximately £13m – meaning around 12p in every £1 the council spends on services, net of income, is not yet funded for 2027/28, says the report.

Extra pressures have come from £90,000 of additional borrowing costs for Bideford Town Hall, which is being renovated and a community and fitness centre being created in the old library and the staff pay award which is assumed will be three per cent in the next financial year rather than the two per cent expected.

The proposals the committee is being asked to accept would reduce the revenue budget gap for next year by up to nearly £1m with the remainder of the shortfall being met through the budget stabilisation reserve, a general fund which eases financial pressures for now, but is not sustainable long term, says the council.

If the gap is not closed, non statutory services, which the council does not have to provide by law, such as leisure centres, grants to the voluntary sector, the Burton Art Gallery and the Plough Arts Centre and member grants could take a hit.