PLANS to sell off the last piece of charity land left to a Tavistock trust in the 1890s to provide almshouses for the elderly and infirm have outraged local residents. The Marshall Memorial Homes Trust was set up 117 years ago but only approximately 1.25 acres of the original 11 acre site at Whitchurch, donated by John Marshall in memory of his wife, remains. The paddock, as it is known, is now the subject of a planning application for four four-bedroomed houses and if approved, the site will be sold off to a private developer, subject to permission from the Charity Commission. It is claimed by the trust that it does not have the finances to develop the land itself but the income from selling it would enable the completion of eight almshouses nearby and provide money for ongoing repairs and maintenance of its other properties. Now called the Marshall and Browne Memorial Homes Trust, after amalgamating with another charity in the 1980s, the trust is responsible for 16 properties occupied by poor or infirm elderly residents in the Tavistock area and this will increase to 22 if the paddock is sold. But Whitchurch resident Catherine Forde said with the local, ageing population growing, there was a vital need to hold onto land intended by deed of trust for this purpose: ?Once this land is sold, it will be gone forever ? to build private homes that most local residents will not be able to afford,? she said. ?I believe a landlord has a right to do something with his land but there is a moral and social issue here. ?This site was intended for people who are needy and I feel the trust should be fundraising or trying to get funds from somewhere like a housing corporation to make this happen.? Robin Hoare, who also lives near the paddock, said he had been aware of planning permission to build bungalows or almshouses on the site for the last 20 years, but that permission had now lapsed, which gave the trust an opportunity to apply for something else. ?We live in an ever changing society which seems to be money driven and it is very disappointing that they will not be building any more elderly persons? bungalows,? he said. Chairman of the charity?s trustees, Russell Woolcock, said a large proportion of the site was sold for private development in the 1970s and no objections were raised by the charity commission then. A new piece of land was purchased along what is now called Marshall Close for eight bungalows and existing properties, including six memorial cottages, were modernised. The trust also amalgamated with the Brownes Memorial Homes in Tavistock in the 1980s which was ?virtually penniless? at the time, taking on eight almshouses near the hospital. All these were installed with central heating and showers. ?We could have sold the paddock when we sold the other land ? the charity commission would not have objected ? but held it back in case we wanted it,? said Mr Woolcock. ?Under charity commission rules we are not allowed to use capital but we can use the income generated once the money is invested.? Mr Woolcock said the rate at which money was coming in from investments meant it would be unlikely that the trust would be able to develop the paddock itself this century even with extra fundraising. But he did hope the Marshall Close bungalows would be completed. A spokesman for West Devon Borough Council confirmed the application regarding the land had been received. If the planning committee is requested to consider it, it is likely to be put before members in October.
