THE scheme to create a £1-million visitor centre in the heart of Tavistock this week received a major blow when a primary funder backed off the project. The centre was to have been situated on the banks of the River Tavy by Abbey Bridge. It would incorporate new toilet facilities and would have forced the re-routing of Market Road. The centre was part of the £6-million Lottery funded Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project. Project leaders had applied for £900,000 worth of additional funding from the South West Regional Development Agency for the centre ? but now the agency has gone cold on the scheme and the application has been refused. Tim Selman, of Tamar Valley AONB Service, said he was ?very disppointed? at the news: ?They told us they wanted to support the scheme ? now they have turned round and said they can?t because of a change in policy. ?They have led us a bit of a merry dance, they encouraged and advised us to apply for this money and this has knocked a big hole in the project.? Mr Selman said the scheme was not ?dead in the water? ? £300,000 of the £6-million mining heritage project has been ring-fenced for Tavistock, but it was now a case of seeking new funding sources. He said: ?The £6-million from the Lottery was rubber-stamped last Friday, so we can now move on to the implementation stage, which is still very positive news for Tavistock. ?The other good thing is that we are not pressurised by time now. We were always pressurised by the deadlines for the Lottery funding because they won?t release a penny until planning issues are resolved. ?Now we have time to look again at the different options for the centre, and through the planning consultation, a lot of issues have been raised.? Mr Selman said it was vital to get the best scheme possible for Tavistock, a town pivotal to the newly designated World Heritage Site. A South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) spokesman said: ?The South West RDA is highly supportive of the World Heritage site in the Tamar Valley and has already committed substantial funds (£1.22-million), both through our main programme and Devon Renaissance, to support projects in the area. ?An initial approach was made to the RDA to establish whether the agency would consider additional funding in connection with the World Heritage site, for the development of the Tavistock Centre and related projects. Our advice was that we would be unable to prioritise a further investment at this stage. ?The agency gets a great many calls on its resources regionally and, with potential tourism projects, needs to target its investment very carefully.? West Devon Borough Council and Tavistock Town Council have already committed funds towards new toilet facilities in Guildhall Square ? these will now go ahead as a separate project, with the present ageing toilets due to be demolished within the next few months. Temporary facilities will be installed while the new ones are built. Money from the Heritage Lottery Fund will enable improvements to be made at Morwellham Quay, the provision of trails through countryside around Devon Great Consols Mine, improvements to Tavistock Canal and better interpretation, public information and signposting in Tavistock. Local historian and Tavistock resident Alex Mettler, a vociferous oponent of the visitor centre scheme, said he was delighted at the RDA?s decision. ?I think the whole scheme was absurd, it was so bad it wasn?t true. To put this centre in the middle of the most historic part of Tavistock was absolute nonsense. ?It?s on a flood plain for a start, it would be built on top of a scheduled monument ? I think it was absolutely barmy,? said Mr Mettler, who questioned the need for a new toilet block in the first place. Meanwhile, a public meeting to discuss developments in Tavistock connected with the World Heritage designation and the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project will take place in Tavistock Town Hall on Monday October 2 at 6.30pm. The meeting will be chaired by town mayor Cllr Caroline Keane ? representatives from West Devon Borough Council and Tamar Valley AONB will be in attendance.