ONE of Tavistock?s most beautiful natural assets is to go under the spotlight during the next few months . . . literally. Community group Tavistock Forward has secured £4,500 from the Regional Development Agency to illuminate the River Tavy from the Dolvin Road side of Abbey Bridge. At the group?s annual meeting last Thursday, vice-chairman Will Smith told members: ?If you come in from Okehampton, there?s nothing there. ?If we can light up that side of the bridge and make it look more inviting, it will brighten up the whole entrance to the town, and if it works and looks good, it might attract more people. ?We need to thank the town council, who agreed to pay for the electricity supply ? now we just have to get it in place.? Mr Smith said restricted finances meant the illuminations would be limited initially ? but better lighting of the river could only be a positive move. The meeting heard that Tavistock Forward would this year be concentrating on projects identified in the Town Alive document, produced by the group after extensive consultation with residents and businesses in the area four years ago. Tavistock Forward chairman John Taylor said: ?We have been a little concerned about the amount of time spent on the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative, so the decision was taken at the last meeting to concentrate on the original Town Alive projects and put more effort into taking these forward in a more positive manner.? The major scheme which the group will pursue in partnership with other bodies is the re-opening of the railway between Plymouth and Tavistock. Some of the other projects with which Tavistock Forward will be involved this year include the food festival, Tavistock Sings!, the continuing work on the Guildhall feasibility project and the possible re-introduction of a hoppa bus. Mr Taylor said Tavistock Sings! would be the biggest musical event yet promoted by Tavistock Forward and the group was currently negotiating to try and secure funding for the event for the next three years. He said the group still has a licence to run a hoppa bus and was thinking about running the service during the weekend of the food festival this summer. The Guildhall feasibility study had been held up while Devon County Council?s records office had been shut pending a move. It has now re-opened and Mr Taylor said work on the study would now be going ahead. Cllr Dick Eberlie, who represents West Devon Borough Council on the Tavistock Forward group, said he was ?very happy? to back the group?s work with their own projects. ?I?m quite sure you are quite right to paddle your own boat and bring in anyone who can help with funding,? he said. David Inman, director of community and services at the borough council, said: ?I always thought the Town Alive document expressed the aspirations of the town. I think it?s well worth revisiting.?
