James Norton, director of Toad Hall Cottages, which has 1,300 holiday lets, including 500 in the South Hams area, said: “What we should be doing as a region is attracting people here.

He added that “everyone” needs tourism “whether it’s holiday rental businesses, shops, restaurants, bars, cleaners or laundries”.

“So to give them another reason not to be here seems crazy to me.”

Isabella Day, owner of Remarkable Goldsmiths in Dartmouth, told the BBC: “It’s probably a good idea.

“I hope it doesn’t distract from tourism because I think the kind of people who come to Dartmouth are already willing to pay for parking.

“As someone who lives here, I think it’s a great idea because it would be better for me if I could find a place to park.”

The Parking Association said it was “up to individual councils to determine their parking rates based on local need and demand in order to best support their own residents and businesses as well as cater to visitors”.

A decision on the exact level of fees will be decided at a later date.