County council plans for a parking shake-up in Dartmouth – which could put a stop to the winter parking free for all along the town's embankments – is due to go before the town council on Monday.

The proposals were unveiled at a meeting of the town's traffic and transport group before Christmas.

But the exact details – which could also include new town centre parking bays – are being kept under wraps until Monday's meeting.

What is certain is that they do not include any controversial moves to bring pay and display parking meters on to the town's streets.

But they are thought to include doing away with the unlimited parking along both North and South Embankment during the winter months – which came under attack last year amid claims that people were using the road as there own personal car park.

Town councillor Roger Chilcott, who chaired the traffic meeting, said the proposals put forward by the county council were 'minor' and not 'contentious' but he refused to say exactly what they were ahead of Monday's meeting.

'I can't say anything,' he said. 'This is just tidying up some minor proposals from the county council.'

The proposals have already sparked off one row after town councillor Dave Cawley – a member of the traffic group – claimed he missed the debate on them because they had not been on the group's agenda in the first place.

On top of that, the meeting had been brought forward an hour at the last minute which meant he had been forced to leave the meeting early, not realising the parking proposals were due to be discussed.

He said this week that he still did not know what was being put forward despite asking for the minutes of the meeting to be sent to him.

He said: 'It was not on the agenda and they did not let me know it was going to come up. That is appalling behaviour. I have had enough of this secrecy.'

Dartmouth's business forum chairman Paul Reach, who was at the traffic meeting for the debate, said the moves include bringing in new parking bays near Boots the Chemist and in Hauley Road along with limiting winter parking along the embankments to four hours.

He said the county council had come up with a list of proposals relating to detailed parking issues in the town centre which residents would be consulted on if the town council supports them.

The proposals are the result of residents' comments made as part of a questionnaire survey over parking and traffic which went out to every household in the town last year.

Cllr Chilcott said details of the proposals would 'come out into the public forum sooner rather than later' and said of Cllr Cawley's concerns: 'You can't stop the meeting if Mr Cawley wants to go off and photograph the carol singing on Bayards Cove.

'He may want to think it was a set up job but it wasn't.'