A PRICING policy which has recently provoked outrage among local groups wishing to hire Tavistock Town Hall is to go under the spotlight once more.

Rental charges for the hall, which is owned by the town council, have been publicly criticised by Tavistock Group of Artists and the Goosey Quilters? group, who wanted to use the hall for annual exhibitions. Both organisations claim the fees are so high that the building has been priced out of reach of local community groups.

The council?s finance committee last week considered letters from each group, asking for a discounted rate.

Dr Ann Stirland, of TGA, claimed the fees were ?exorbitant? and the council was ?impertinent? in asking to see profit and loss accounts for the group?s recent exhibitions ? a request she said ?beggars belief?.

?This is clearly an attempt to provide a red-herring so that questions about the council?s pricing policy over the town hall can be avoided,? said Dr Stirland.

Pamela Hunter, of Goosey Quilters, told the council it was ?quite impossible? for the group to afford the £600 charge for four days? rental of the hall and claimed it was ?very short-sighted? of the council not to support community organisations like the Quilters.

Town mayor Norma Woodcock said: ?We do want the hall used but on the other hand, we have to be mindful of how much it costs us to maintain it.

?I would point out that when we have been asked to make a reduction, we ask to see the accounts of the body that is asking ? it?s not an impertinence ? if people ask for a grant then we need to know why they need a grant and why they can?t afford it.?

Cllr Woodcock said that in her opinion, the art group?s exhibition was a ?commercial venture?.

?I can?t understand why the council tax payers of Tavistock should be expected to subsidise that,? she said.

Cllr Peter Jones, chairman of the finance committee, said rental charges for the hall were ?prohibitive? and did cause problems when non-profit making community groups wanted to hire the building. He felt more profit should be made on the town hall bar, which could offset lower rental fees.

Councillors agreed the issue should be deferred to the town hall sub-committee for further investigation. This group would be strengthened with additional membership, comprising the chairman of the finance and properties committees.

Town clerk Roger Howard was instructed to write to Tavistock Group of Artists and Goosey Quilters, explaining the situation.

Col Howard said: ?It may be that this new committee will decide a new sort of charging system for the town hall, which we don?t have at the moment.?

The listed Victorian town hall, which still requires extensive work to be carried out on its ceiling, is a constant drain on the council?s resources. It currently costs the council almost £13 a day, 365 days a year, to maintain, whether it is used or not.