IT was with great disappointment, but no surprise, to read that Tavistock Town Council has decided to remove the availability of the pannier market for community use. Of course the employed management staff wish to remove this facility as it reduces the opportunity for them to maximise the income from market activities. However, Tavistock Town Council has a greater responsibility in this matter. That is to achieve Best Value for Pannier Market use, a phrase which they proudly boast to achieve but, in this case, do not because the majority of the council consistently fail to see the difference between Best Value and maximum income. With regard to reasons for removal of fifth Saturday use quoted in your article: a) the town does not have any other facility available of the floor size and easy access of the pannier market - the next largest, the town hall, is very much smaller and has access facilities which deter many potential customers b) of course permanent stallholders will be upset at losing five Saturdays a year, but this should have been an explicit requirement within their contracts and thus they have the choice of acceptance or otherwise. The council fell over backwards to accommodate the Antiques Roadshow for four weekdays in May, throwing out stallholders wholesale, but this brought precious little towards helping the disadvantaged in the district and, on the day, the town was less busy than usual as far as I could see. For at least one charity group the fifth Saturday use brought their largest one day source of income which went direct to care of the disadvantaged. The Antiques Roadshow directly favours only the advantaged. At the annual Steam Fair on June 5 many exhibits were missing from the pannier market because some stallholders were allowed to open on a normally non-trading day, thus giving a much depleted exhibition space, but still a charge had to be made to enter to help fund the Steam Fair as a whole. I personally heard a number of exhibitors, who give their time free, and visitors, state their disappointment and at this rate such events will disappear from Tavistock?s calendar. To remove fifth Saturday for community use is a disappointingly very poor decision by the town council, the more especially as, apparently, only one councillor, Cllr Sherrell, had the understanding and courage to get up and say so. Alex Mettler Courtenay Road Tavistock I am very angry with the Town Council?s decision to scrap the use of the market by community groups. I would be interested to know whether this is actually permitted under their market charter? I would also like to see details of the alleged ?complaints? they have received. The Plym Valley Railway Association, (of which I am a member) regularly supports the Tavistock Area Support Services annual Charity Bonanza. Last year, we were forced to use the town hall for this event and it was immediately noticeable that the number of people visiting the event was much lower. The money we raised for the PVRA was also much lower as a result and was hardly worth the effort of the ten volunteers who gave up their time. To try to argue that the market traders are somehow ?inconvenienced? by the 5 (possible) community events every year, and that they have paid a rent (and by implication ?losing out?) is not a valid argument. The traders will all have signed up knowing about these five (possible) days well in advance. I am always surprised by the number of people I see trying to enter the market on a Monday! If the traders wish to have extra days, why not open the market then as there are an extra 52 of these! The town council is hitting the vital fund raising efforts of many local groups and charities by their decision. How are they supposed to recoup these losses? The council has already dumped the use of the market for elections, what chance the Antiques Roadshow of coming back now then!!! Stephen Fryer The Little Friary Buckland Monachorum
