LAST week's headlines and front page article made for good drama but the reality is that West Devon Borough Council faces a critical decision requiring sound and responsible judgment.
Given any proposal for a large scale development in the near-vicinity and local people will instinctively shy away from the concrete and tarmac that will ensue. Every major development that has taken place in Tavistock over the past 20 years has generated furious complaints with forecasts of impending doom for the town. I am not complacent but I see the Tavistock of today positively benefiting from all these changes – including the new Bedford Square.
We do appear however to have 'closed down' on the current debate with a growing acceptance that we simply must have a core strategy for the borough, and also that the level of new housing being proposed for the borough will in fact be needed over the next two decades. The outstanding contentious issue appears to be one of whether we adopt the proposed developments in Tavistock and Okehampton or we decide for 'more housing to be dispersed throughout the district' as proposed by the RCA.
The core strategy already includes an allocation of 26% of new housing for rural communities and the RCA proposal for this to be increased and for any Tavistock developments to be spread throughout the town really does need to be challenged.
The idea of finding convenient locations for the new primary school and a new hospital within the town in addition to significant land for required industrial units to provide employment opportunities, as well as all the additional new housing, is simply unrealistic. The suggestion to increase the new housing allocation in the rural communities has equally been given no real consideration. It certainly does not suggest any aspect of real strategic planning!
If we are seriously planning for developments through to the 2020s we all need to accept that difficult decisions have to be made. It would be truly damaging to the future prosperity of the borough if we do not face up to this.
Robin Musgrave
Ward Member for the Bere Peninsula
IT is telling that the leader of West Devon Borough Council's response to criticism of the core strategy is to try to belittle the result of Tavistock's Parish Poll, saying it represented 'only' 12.8% of the electorate.
In fact, in the context of the mid-August summer holidays, the turnout was exceptional; also many were highly disappointed at being told they could not vote as they had gone to the wrong polling station.
By comparison with the last town council election of 'only' 17.97%, (with supporting official advertising), it registers very well and is an outstanding reflection of opinion. The last borough election only registered 33.85%. No, Cllr McInnes, it was a very definite vote of rejection.
Nor is it the case that objections being made are about overall numbers, as Cllr McInnes wishes to imply. The need expressed in those numbers is understood and accepted. Criticism is of the concentration upon the principal thrust of the strategy being towards ill thought out urban extensions, (the inevitable urban sprawl), and insufficient emphasis being given to the needs of rural communities.
Cllr McInnes says that 36% of the housing is going into the villages, but the council's own figures state that two thirds (66.666%) of the borough's inhabitants live outside Tavistock and Okehampton. They are addressing only half of the requirement. It is the planned allocation that is wrong, not the numbers.
The council is going for the easy option, creating urban sprawl to the detriment of our market towns, and failing to give adequate support to the rural communities. They are pursuing a broken philosophy. Urban extensions lead to isolation and separation of communities.
The integration of communities is what is needed. Building in several different areas of (for example) Tavistock would be a constructive contribution for the need for such integration, but it also needs to be allocated into the wider community.
Jeremy Davies
Tavistock