AN application to build a shop on the site of the former Old Folk's Rest Room building in Tavistock last week fell foul of West Devon's planning committee.

The application by Hunstrete Estates, which owns the building in Brook Street, was for a two-storey retail unit on the site, within the town's Conservation Area and part of the new World Heritage Site.

Planning officers recommended approval of the scheme, despite the fact a previous application by Hunstrete had been dismissed on appeal by a government planning inspector.

Planning officer Katie Graham told the committee that the inspector's decision had been based on the fact that the loss of the rest room was unacceptable, as there were no suitable alternative premises, and that such a loss would have 'serious community implications'.

Miss Graham said: 'It is officer opinion that a facility has been provided in Bedford Square, which is considered a convenient alternative.'

But Cllr Mandy Govier told the committee the Old Folk's Rest Room was last week forced to wind down its business, as it had not proved financially viable to move to the Court Gate premises offered by the town council.

Her concerns were for the design of the proposed unit by Hunstrete. 'We are always told to take note of the conservation officer's advice, but you seem to have blatantly dismissed it, which normally we would be strung up for,' she told planning officers.

The committee heard the conservation officer had slammed the proposed design, with its arched windows similar to those of nearby Boots and WH Smith, as 'a poor imitation of others in the street but in a totally different context'.

It was 'a poor design with a paucity of detail', he said.

His recommendations were backed by Devon County Council's archaeologist, who was concerned about ancient remains relating to the medieval development of Tavistock which could lie beneath the site.

Planning chief Jane Hart said it would be 'unreasonable' to refuse the application on design grounds, because the appeal inspector had accepted the proposal in these terms.

Committee chairman Cllr Philip Sanders reminded members that although the issue of the Old Folk's Rest Room had been emotive, the fact remained that the site owners, Hunstrete, had not renewed the lease to the organisation and the building had now been closed for several months.

The committee rejected the application on grounds that as the current Brook Street building had historical merit in a social sense, it could not agree that the proposed replacement was acceptable within the Tavistock street scene.

A related application for Conservation Area consent to demolish the rest room was also turned down, as no planning consent for an acceptable replacement had been granted.