THERE are still plans to move Tavistock?s war memorial ? but not for some time, residents at last week?s annual town meeting were told.
The project to move the memorial from its present position in the Guildhall car park to the parish churchyard was first sparked by a question at a town meeting several years ago. A subsequent parish poll revealed most people agreed with the move ? but the project has now ground to a halt.
Town clerk Roger Howard told the meeting: ?We have had a radar survey of the churchyard and they have found substantial echoes, which might be part of the old abbey ? they think bits of the abbey could be within one metre of the surface in places.?
Col Howard said the next stage would be for Exeter Archaeology to do a dig, process its findings and produce a report, costing around £3,500, which could be forwarded to English Heritage.
The council would need to prove that moving the war memorial to the churchyard would not damage the abbey remains which lay beneath.
?Unfortunately we couldn?t find the money this year and there is a 12-month delay, so we will try to do it next year,? said Col Howard.
Tavistock resident Graham Kirkpatrick said he felt a suitable alternative place for the memorial would be in the Meadows.
?Why not demolish the bandstand and move the war memorial there?? he said. ?It?s quiet, peaceful and pleasant for people to be able to sit and contemplate.?
But resident Alex Mettler disagreed. ?I can?t think of a more inappropriate place than a children?s play area,? he said.
Mr Mettler also asked when the new gate into Dolvin Road Cemetery would be installed ? another request from a previous town meeting several years ago.
The council took on board complaints of the smell of piles of grass-cuttings by the bus stop near Harewood House, limited summer opening times of the toilets in Bedford car park, possible demolition of the bandstand and the re-opening of the Tavistock to Plymouth railway line.
Cllr Robin Pike said the re-opening of the rail link was in the Devon county structure plan and was a policy objective of the borough and Plymouth City transport departments.
?It?s still on the cards, it?s still being looked at,? he told the meeting.
Mayor Norma Woodcock said the churchyard was chosen as an appropriate place to reposition the war memorial because that was the original site chosen after the first world war.
?If we find we are not able to move the memorial to the churchyard we would have to rethink and it might be that the Meadows is somewhere we would wish to consider.?
She said the gate into Dolvin Road Cemetery was ?in the budget? and would be ?put in hand?, although pressure of work on council staff meant it had been put back slightly.
Smelly grass cuttings would be discussed with the works staff and the bandstand was the subject of ongoing discussions, though any group which wanted to set up a ?save the bandstand committee? would be welcomed by the council.
The toilets in Bedford car park were not town council property, but councillors might consider writing to the borough council to suggest extended summer opening.
The mayor said the council continued to work with its partners to play its part in making sure Tavistock was a ?vital and vibrant market town?, within the confines of its budget and the challenges posed by its extensive, often ageing, property portfolio.