Charges to be introduced at two Exmoor car parks

Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) has opened a public consultation on the proposals for the charges at its car parks at Haddon Hill and Exford.

If the plans go ahead the fees for the Haddon Hill car park will be £3 for three hours and £5 for over three hours. At the Exford car park, which is used for school drop-offs and pick-ups and visits to the village shop, the first 30 minutes will be free, followed by £1.50 for one hour, £3 for three hours and £5 for over three hours.

The fees will pay for improvements to the car parks, which will include electric vehicle charging points at Exford, along with picnic tables and tree planting at both sites.

The proposals are part of a wider scheme for improvements across the Exmoor National Park Authority owned estate, which will include dog bin provision, seating, tree planting and better signage.

ENPA Access and Recreation Manager Dan Barnett said: “We aim to ensure that all of our car parks and picnic areas provide well-managed ‘gateways’ to Exmoor National Park - welcoming, easy to use spaces, maximising benefits for nature and climate, and providing high quality information to celebrate the locations which they serve.

“At the same time, we are obliged to tackle ongoing financial challenges. In real terms, our current government funding is around half of what it was 10 years ago. Through introducing appropriate charging, we aim to offset some, or all, of the substantial annual cost to maintain them so that we can continue to provide high quality facilities with a sustainable funding model, less reliant on core government funding.

“With this in mind, we have recently introduced an annual parking permit scheme that provides an affordable option for regular users that is transferable across all of our charged car parks. We hope that this, along with a sensible charging rate, will reduce any potential displacement of parking to less suitable places.”

The public consultation is open until Friday, July 7. Initial work to instal the payment facilities is due to start in the late summer, with further improvements during the autumn and winter.

Full details of the proposals for both car parks can be found in the 'Enjoying' section of the Exmoor National Park website. To submit comments, email haddon@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or exfordcp@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk.