THE Gazette's campaign to stop huge parking charge rises in Devizes was hailed a victory this week.

Plans to charge a minimum of £4 a day were thrown out on Tuesday.

Councillors unanimously spoke against raising charges from 35p to 60p an hour after the first two hours as a way of discouraging shoppers from staying too long.

But parking charges will rise next April, from 35p to 40p an hour in all car parks in Devizes and Marlborough. In Marlborough, parking charges will be levied on Sundays and bank holidays for the first time.

The £1.50 all-day charge will also go up, but only to £2 a day, still more than some people, including Labour councillors, say is good for the town.

But a motion by Coun Ian Hopkins at Tuesday's meeting of Kennet's community development policy meeting to keep charges in Station Road at 35p an hour and £1.50 a day was soundly defeated.

Town councillor Noel Woolrych was one of several local campaigners to credit the Gazette and Herald for the council climbdown.

He said: "This is a victory for common sense which might not have come to pass had it not been for the Gazette bringing the facts to the notice of local people.

"Parking charges are a form of indirect voluntary tax but people who use the council's car parks are resentful, feeling they are already contributing to the council's revenue by paying their taxes."

Jeff Ody, the chairman of the Trust For Devizes, called Tuesday's decision a sensible reconsideration of the issue.

He said: "Any rise in parking costs is to be deplored. Parking availability is a means of attracting trade to the town. The council's policy should be turned on its head and we should aggressively promote parking in Devizes as being user-friendly.

"It is greatly to the credit of the Gazette and its readers for supporting the campaign to make the council think again."

Coun Tony Duck, the chairman of the local pressure group Devizes Guardians, said: "The important thing is that between the Gazette and ourselves we raised public awareness of local issues, in this case the proposed hikes in parking charges, which, if they had gone through, would have damaged the town very badly.

"The volume of letters generated by the revelations in the Gazette is clear evidence of the awareness local people now have, thanks to the Gazette."

Kennet officers who recommended the rises said the £4 a day charge would encourage commuters to use public transport.

The alternative rises that were finally approved were put forward by the ruling Conservative and Independent groups.

If Sunday and bank holiday charging proves effective in Marlborough, it is feared they could be introduced in Devizes as well.

Coun Duck said: "I think it is unfortunate. Charging for parking on a Sunday will hit the tourist trade."

Meanwhile, Safeway in Devizes is to get tough with motorists who park all day in their free car park.

The supermarket has installed signs telling people that they can only park there for two hours at a time, after which they will be liable for a £40 fine given out by attendants.