From the end of January, Great Western Railway (GWR) will charge £2 a day for parking at Okehampton station marking the end of a grace period.

OkeRail, the campaigners behind the reopening of Okehampton’s station, negiotiated a three-month grace period with GWR before the railway’s opening during which parking would remain free but this is set to come to an end from January 31.

West Devon Borough Councillor Kevin Ball, said: ’The car park was always going to be charged but GWR decided to give a three-month grace period. It will be £2 a day but if you are picking up or dropping off it’s the same as Exeter St Davids - you do not need to pay for that.’

A few people have questioned whether the new charges will disencourage commuters and visitors from using the station, but Cllr Ball said he had actually seen very few negative comments.

’Most people see the need for it,’ he said. ’It would be more expensive if you parked at Exeter St Davids.’

The pay and display equipment will be activated on January 31 and the car park will also be equipped with automatic number plate recognition.

Regular users can buy season parking tickets for a one, three or 12 month period.