A WEST Devon councillor has warned any further delays in granting planning permission for an Okehampton enhancement scheme could jeopardise the funding.
The work to improve Fairplace Gardens and replace the dilapidated public toilets has to be completed by the end of December or the town will lose out on the £50,000 of European 5B funds earmarked for the scheme.
But when the application was considered by the borough's planning committee last week, members voted to defer it for a site meeting following concerns by Okehampton representative Cllr Joan Pauley that there had been a lack of public consultation.
Cllr Jayne Hill, who also represents Okehampton, is now seriously concerned that time will run out on the scheme.
'It is going to be a very tight time schedule,' she said. 'I am not saying we should bulldoze things through but there has actually been some very good consultation on this plan and all it needed was a few tweaks.'
Residents were asked to give their views on several designs for Fairplace Gardens after they went on public view in March. There was majority support for a scheme consisting of a new toilet building and landscaping works, which were also approved by the Okehampton Traffic and Enhancement Scheme.
Mrs Hill said Okehampton was having a lot of money invested into it —up to £1-million will be injected into projects this year, half of which is coming from Europe — but it often appeared the town did not want the money.
'I am becoming very conscious of people on the council getting fed up with Okehampton stamping its feet,' she said.
'We should be looking at this as a great opportunity to change the town, not acting like spoilt brats.'
But Cllr Joan Pauley said it was very important to get the scheme right for the people of Okehampton and she did not believe the money would be at risk by putting it back a month .
'This is not a delaying tactic — there are still several issues to address including the narrowness of the pavement, the removal of a 100-year-old wall and lovely shrubs which have been part of Fairplace Gardens for over 50 years,' she said.
The councillor said she understood fewer than 100 residents out of a population of 5,000 gave their views on the plans for Fairplace Gardens, which was not a true representation of the town's feeling.
Deputy chief executive of the borough council David Inman explained that the plans were on display for a week in several public places and this was advertised in the Times.
'We cannot force people to fill in questionnaires but we actually had about 170 replies, the majority of which supported this scheme which is on the table,' he said.
'Okehampton deserves this money and we will use this money very wisely in conjunction with the community, but this plan has to be determined by the end of June because any further delays would be fatal.'
The work was due to follow current improvements taking place in the Fairplace area by Devon County Council to increase pedestrian safety.
Three letters of objection to the application were received from neighbouring residents worried about the height of the toilet building.
Okehampton Town Council supported the plan but was concerned about the design of the building and the loss of walling along George Street.
But planning officers felt the building would not obscure the first floor window of Peel House due to the shape and angling of the roof, and the 'modern and well designed' toilet block would preserve and enhance the conservation area.