I HAVE now been consulted about Okehampton's Fairplace Refurbishment or, at least, I think I have.

I visited the stand in the Charter Hall lobby and studied the two designs. I must say there was little difference in general between these and we all know the difference between an artists impression and the finished article.

Where were the other designs or ideas? Has any other expert or layman been asked to submit something? No, I think not. Mr Smith is obviously the golden eyed man of the moment for West Devon Borough Council staff and other ideas are scoffed at.

Put your comments on a form, I was told. No name required. I just hope it does not get lost.

But in all honesty do we really need so many bumps in the road? More free parking spaces lost and all costing a large sum of money? Yes, the area of the toilets and gardens does need work and pedestrian access to the Post Office is poor. But is this amount of work really necessary?

The money could surely be better used in the town to build our much needed additional parking to accommodate coaches and other outsized vehicles, a sorely needed facility that was lost during recent developments.

Come on, West Devon, surely we are all together in wanting to attract more custom, whether local or visitors, to Okehampton? If the work takes as long per square metre as the comical 'rivers' at St James Chapel, then we must be in for another year of the dreaded road works.

Ian Howard

Owner

Olditch Farm Caravan and Camping Park

Sticklepath

FOLLOWING on from my letter published August 17, and the front page article of August 24 I feel that perhaps I ought to be more specific in my criticisms of the enhancement works in Okehampton, and in particular of David Inman, deputy chief executive of West Devon Borough Council.

Mr Inman may feel that to have occasional displays open to the public is enough to ensure that the planning process for Okehampton is representative and fair. To put it quite simply this is a completely unacceptable way of doing things.

Regeneration works up and down the country over recent years have shown time and time again that displays in town halls and other similar locations do not properly engage the public.

In an ideal world we would all race along to these meetings, but in the year 2000 things work differently.

To start with, a large percentage of the population believe that their opinions will not be listened to, and Mr Inman's response does nothing to change this perception.

In order to change this attitude towards local authorities something positive needs to be done by the local authorities.

I am sure Mr Inman is well aware of a process called 'Planning for Real', whereby ideas for regeneration works are taken to the people (usually on a stripped out bus parked in various residential streets), not shut away in an official chamber somewhere. And you keep taking it to the people until everyone has had their say.

Yes, it can be quite expensive and take a long time to organise and complete, but will result in the best possible ideas being put into practice.

As Mr Inman knows very well, if you want the public to use and respect new facilities they have to feel ownership of the facilities, not feel like they have been imposed from on high.

I would like to take this opportunity to call on West Devon Borough Council and their partners to call an immediate halt to all works and to start the planning process from scratch, and do it properly. What is the bigger waste of money, re-doing the planning, or spending millions building facilities that the community don't want?

Dave Goodwin

2 Cleave Cottage

Sticklepath

THE so-called continued enhancements to Okehampton do not appear to be starting with the 'clean sheet of paper' as claimed.

There were very well advanced schemes on display at the Okehampton Show both using numerous road humps from the Unimaginative School of Traffic Mis-Management and Society for the Determined Uglyfication of Okehampton. No matter what we say it is inevitable that this is what we will have built for us.

What on earth is necessary to stop the continued unnecessary and expensive works that are spoiling a perfectly fine town? Is nothing learnt from recent past errors?

The Fairplace scheme is offered under the pretence of improving pedestrian safety, which of course nobody would argue against; except it is being done by the very same people who closed off St James's Street and built on our coach park, with both of these changes sending more and heavy traffic to Fairplace making the area less safe.

David Bagshall

Grindhill

Broadbury