Traders are calling for talks with Dartmouth regatta bosses amid claims that many of their businesses are being harmed by the massive event.

Half the town traders in the town surveyed after this year's royal regatta said that the massive influx of thousands of visitors had had a neutral or negative impact on their businesses.

And Paul Reach, chairman of Dartmouth Business Forum which carried out the survey, said: 'The Dartmouth businesses spend around £3m to £4m in business rates between them each year.

'Yet when regatta is held and all the visitors come to the town, the event brings its own high street and a new out-of-town town shopping centre with it – and that's not fair on the businesses.'

Mr Reach was referring to the tented shopping village on Coronation Park which is now part of the annual event along with the traditional Cheapjack stalls which line a large section of the town centre embankment.

There have already been complaints this year about the number of fast-food outlets brought into the town as part of regatta and their impact on local businesses.

Mr Reach said regatta officials had agreed to hold talks with the business forum later this year to look at the concerns.

And he added: 'We don't want to take away from how spectacular the event is and how brilliantly they organise it but we also want to make sure it does the maximum good for Dartmouth.'

He said a similar forum survey last year following regatta had show that some 30 per cent had said it had a neutral effect and 20 per cent it had had a negative impact on their businesses.

'It was slightly worse this year,' he said.

'I have had a lot of response from people who echoed the fact that this was a bad year for them.

'Even the chip shop in Fairfax Place said they were empty for long periods during the air displays.'

He said that many of the concerns were about the standard of the Cheapjack stalls and pointed out that there were some 24 food and drink stalls there this year.

He said the regatta and businesses need to see if there were better ways of organising things.

'Do we need the Cheapjacks and if we do how can we organise them?' he asked.

Regatta vice chairman Hilary Bastone said: 'We are prepared to meet anyone who has concerns about regatta.'

He said that business concerns had not yet been spelled out to the regatta team and the meeting would be to allow just that to happen.

He added: 'We are always looking to make improvements.

'There are things to do with the street market that we would like to rearrange for next year and before we do that we are talking to some of the businesses in the town.'