TAXI drivers in Teignbridge look set to besiege Devon County Council's local services office in Brunel Road, Newton Abbot, to protest about a lack of taxi rank spaces.

Since deregulation in March, the number of Hackney Plates increased by more than double from 84 to around 185, but rank spaces in Dawlish, Teignmouth and Newton Abbot have stayed virtually constant.

Bovey Tracey-based taxi proprietor Chris Moore, of ASAP Executive Airport Taxis, and the communications officer for the Teignbridge Taxi and Private Hire Association, said members gave a mandate for some form of protest at last week's annual meeting in Kingsteignton.

The committee meets on Monday to decide and plan the action.

Last year, drivers brought roads around Teignbridge Council's Forde House headquarters in Newton Abbot to a standstill, when lines of taxis converged on the area to protest about deregulation.

The association also took the district authority to the High Court over deregulation, but lost the case.

Mr Moore said Teignbridge entered into deregulation without considering the ramifications.

Dawlish now had approximately 19 taxis sharing nine rank spaces, Teignmouth 18 sharing five, and in Newton Abbot – discounting the station which provided nine spaces for 22 taxis, each of the owners having to pay £700 annually – there were 16 spaces between more than 70 taxis.

'The district council did not consider there would be a huge explosion in the number of taxis and, together with the county council, have made no provision for extra rank spaces.

'In Teignmouth and Dawlish taxi drivers waiting to get on to the ranks have been threatened with parking tickets, they then have to drive off around the town causing pollution.

'There have been discussions with county council highways and every time we come up with suggestions for spaces, they say we cannot put them there.

'The public is being inconvenienced in Newton Abbot because there are so many taxis congesting the central area with nowhere to park.

'It is now nearly a year since deregulation and we are hitting our heads up against a brick wall. Somewhere along the line we must get some action even if it takes protest action,' said Mr Moore.

He claimed Teignbridge and Devon County councils had ducked the issue all along.

'They need a kick up the backside to get them moving,' he said.