DULVERTON Town Council claims it could be facing a financial crisis if West Somerset Council ploughs ahead with plans to take back control of the town's public car parks.

Historically, the town council has managed the district council-owned car parks in Dulverton, paying the district authority an annual rent in return for keeping the income raised for the town.

But the district has already made moves to reclaim the car parks as part of wider scheme to form a countywide parking enforcement partnership with Somerset County Council and the area's other district councils.

The move would see responsibility for enforcing both on-street and off-street car parking restrictions pass from the police to a civil task force of wardens employed by the partnership.

Town council chairman Chris Nelder said the district council had told him they had no choice but to cease the existing arrangement as from February 1 next year.

He said town councillors were "dismayed" by the news and warned any such move could lead to higher car parking charges and an increase in local Council Tax bills.

Mr Nelder said: "Dulverton Town Council has kept the parking charges as low as financially possible and ensured that the revenue raised was used for the benefit of the community.

"The income has, in turn, enabled members to keep any increase in Council Tax precept reasonable.

"A loss of revenue on this scale will undoubtedly create severe financial problems for Dulverton Town Council, directly affecting the community.

"The considerable rise in car parking charges will affect both residents and visitors alike and, consequently, the economy of the town, which is heavily reliant on tourism."

Mr Nelder said he believed the move was against Government policy which aimed to create sustainable rural communities, partly by devolving more powers to local authorities.

However, the Government is also pushing for all local authorities to adopt their own decriminalised parking schemes to take responsibility for enforcing parking restrictions away from the police.

Taunton Deane Borough Council has operated its own civil parking enforcement scheme since 2001, while in West Somerset, car parks remain the responsibility of the district council and the streets the domain of the police.

Dulverton is the exception to the rule, with the town council operating the car parks on behalf of the district authority.

But the district council is currently in the process of approving new service plans, which spell out its priorities, including reclaiming Dulverton's car parks.

Under the heading "preparation for the implementation of CPE [civil parking enforcement]", the plan states: "Negotiate with Dulverton Town Council for the management of car parks in Dulverton to be returned to West Somerset Council."

Members of the council's scrutiny committee have already given their backing to the plan, which has yet to be approved by cabinet and the full council.

Mr Nelder is hoping to pile on the pressure on the district council in the interim by asking Dulverton residents to make their views known at the town council's forthcoming annual meeting on May 6.

"I hope Dulverton residents will attend the meeting where they will have the opportunity to voice their opinions," Mr Nelder said.

The annual meeting will be held in Dulverton Town Hall at 7pm.

Cllr Doug Ross, the district council's finance portfolio holder, has already given district councillors his assurance that the authority will not leap into a parking partnership with anyone unless it makes financial sense for the district council.

But he maintains better parking enforcement is vital to ensure a steady turnover of parking spaces to help both shoppers and local businesses.

At a district council meeting at the end of last year, Adrian Dyer, the council's executive director, said: "At present, police parking enforcement cannot meet public expectations and in some cases there is an assumption that no enforcement will take place.

"A parking partnership would employ civil enforcement officers to patrol both streets and car parks. The partnership would also also process penalty charges.

"District councils would buy a patrol service for off-street car parks and the county council buy a patrol service for on-street enforcement."

Economic development and tourism portfolio holder Cllr Michael Downes said civil parking enforcement was nothing new but said it was important any partnership was flexible as each district had different needs.