Parking in Marlborough came under scrutiny by town councillors and residents during the annual parish meeting on Monday.

The issue was debated during an open discussion and among the suggestions that were put forward were a park and ride scheme, residents’ permits and parking zones.

Mayor Guy Loosemore said current parking provision was not adequate to cope with planned developments in the town.

He said: “Making provisions for parking will possibly involve something along the lines of using the salt depot which, for the majority of the year, is empty space and could be used for a park and ride scheme. In order for this to happen, we need to engage with Wiltshire Council.”

Town councillor and taxi boss Justin Cook said: “We need to have zones within 10 minutes walk of the High Street where people can park for free and then we have to do something more controversial, which is residents’ permits.

“Unless you force people not to park outside people’s houses, they will park there.”

There were calls for cheaper parking for people who work in town and better signposting to car parks. Town councillor Mervyn Hall said: “There are a number of parking problems in the town but I think the biggest one is people working in the town in shops, and even charity shops unpaid, are expected to pay £5 to £8 for a day’s parking.”

A decision was made to set up a working party.