A new Totnes town “ranger” could be handed the job of policing the town’s pavement cafe culture.

The initiative could see licence fees imposed on businesses that want to put their chairs and tables on the public pavements in the town centre to fund the £16,000-a-year post, town ­councillors heard.

The town council has just agreed to shell out £16,000 on the town officer post, which would involve looking after the cleanliness and appearance of the town and implementing improvements.

Councillors were told that one of the ranger’s new jobs could be collecting licence fees from cafe businesses that are currently paying nothing for taking over public pavements with their tables and chairs.

Town councillor Judy Westacott said: “Part of their role would be collecting the money for the tables and chairs outside on the pavement.”

She pointed out that the cash from street licences could be used to offset the cost of the new role.

Suggestions that the town council should start imposing a licensing regime on businesses with pavement operations was discussed in September last year, but the notion was shelved after it was agreed that the council should look at neighbouring towns’ operations.

To date, it has not been raised in the council chamber again.

Although the cash for the post of town officer is being built into next year’s budget, the exact details of the job and how it would be operate have yet to be worked out in detail by town councillors.

Some of the councillors reacted with ­concern over the impact of any extra cost being imposed on town businesses.

Town clerk Cather-ine Marlton said any changes would be “gradual” and that the town council would not suddenly be ­slapping new licence fees upon people.

Totnes Town Council has had the power to impose a charge for issuing street cafe licences for almost a decade, even though most of the town councillors did not know about it.

The town agreed to take over the job from Devon County Council, along with Teignmouth, Exeter and Newton Abbot, but then did nothing about it.

The cost of a street pavement licence would be £200, with an annual charge of £85 to renew it thereafter.

Currently, Totnes boasts a number of pavement cafe-style sets of tables and chairs stretching from the Butterwalk to The Plains, but the town council is yet to issue a single licence.