I HAVE followed the ongoing discussion about the proposed new housing to the west of the town. 

Sadly, it is of little surprise to see that the facilities originally promised are gradually disappearing from the plan. I wonder if the railway will be next and that all we will actually get will be 750 homes and a lot of additional congestion (as predicted).

The decisions that set the plan in motion were debated and fought over two or three years ago. The likelihood of the promised additional infrastructure ever materialising was questioned then so it is somewhat ironic to see councillors (some of whom voted their assent or abstained) expressing surprise and alarm about it now.

The real problem has been that West Devon Borough Council is comprised of councillors whose wards are spread far and wide. Some of these take their seats without even having to be elected so sparsely populated are the wards they represent. Yet these people were in a position to vote these plans through regardless of the wishes of the residents of Tavistock and Okehampton and were quite content to see such development taking place anywhere but on their own patch.

Unless the council's ward boundaries are re-drawn, these 'backwoods' councillors will continue to exert a disproportionate and damaging influence on the dispersal of new development in the borough.

Guy Sergeant

Tavistock