THE leader of West Devon's Liberal Democrats, Cllr Alison Clish-Green, was at 10 Downing Street last Wednesday to meet Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy PM Nick Clegg.

She said: 'This was a great opportunity to take right to the top the concerns of local people living in our beautiful area of market towns and rural communities.

'In a personal conversation lasting several minutes, I told the PM about the additional costs of service delivery in rural areas, and how many facilities are being lost from our villages.' She said Mr Cameron responded from his own local experience in West Oxfordshire.

Cllr Clish-Green also met Andrew Stunell, minister in the Communities and Local Government department. She discussed with him the new Localism Bill, and specifically the need for any new housing to help sustain local villages, rather than just being concentrated in towns such as Tavistock.

The London visit was arranged by the Liberal Democrat office of the Local Government Association, the national body representing all councils in England and Wales, and on this occasion was for Liberal Democrat group leaders.