FURY erupted at a meeting in Tavistock this week as it was revealed the town hall advertising banners could be subject to enforcement action.

West Devon Borough Council has repeatedly requested the banners be removed — but the town council, which owns the historic buildings between which the advertisements are flown, has steadfastedly stuck to the policy of using them to advertise forthcoming events.

Members at this week's meeting of the town's properties committee heard that Graham Lawrence, the borough's conservation officer, was adamant in his objections to the banners, and that enforcement action was being considered.

In a memo, Mr Lawrence said: 'Our position remains that these ad hoc signs do not have consent as they relate to a variety of events, not a single business, and they are constantly changing. The graphic content and materials are generally poor and detract from the fine buildings at the core of the town.'

Mr Lawrence said it was 'clear' the signs were detrimental to their setting within the conservation area and a World Heritage designated site. He said it was 'very unhelpful' that such a poor example was being set.

'When we take enforcement action against people or advise their signs are unacceptable, it doesn't help that they can point down the road and say, "What about the town council?",' he said.

'At officer level we are very concerned and we have the support of English Heritage. These are the most highly designated buildings we have in West Devon, truly of international status, so we feel they need to be managed to the best possible standards.'

Cllr Ted Sherrell was livid at the borough's stance, describing it as 'nit-picking, bureaucratic nonsense'.

'I am astonished by this. If we were putting up a sheet with some paint daubed on I could see their grounds, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with these banners. I just wonder what planet they live on.

'Of course the banners are constantly changing — that's the whole point of them, to let people know what's going on. People are paying commercial rents to use our facilities for events, and I think it's intolerable to have this pressure when common sense should prevail.' He proposed the town council stick to its policy.

Cllr Harry Smith said the banners did not damage the buildings, and to state they were of poor quality was 'just untrue'.

Cllr John Sellis said: 'It would be interesting to know the number of people who have been put off coming to our town because of these banners — none, I suspect.'

Cllr Debo Sellis said: 'I wonder what the tax payers of Tavistock would feel about this — there is a fine line between preserving and protecting our heritage and pickling Tavistock in aspic.'

She said the town council did a fantastic job in maintaining its historic buildings and took its responsibilities very seriously. 'Do we want to jeopardise them, defile them, ruin them? No, of course we don't. This is a market town, we need to support our businesses and organisations and I don't believe these banners affect the historic setting of the town.'

But Cllr Philip Sanders sounded a note of caution: 'Rhetoric is fine, emotion is fine, but we have to recognise that we are probably facing the threat of legal action. We can stick our heads in the sand, but I think it will happen.'

Cllr Sanders said the situation arose because a member of the public complained to the borough about the banners.

'The borough is constrained by certain regulations. Whilst I would like to support the proposal, I don't think it's a very positive action to take. I think we have to find some resolution between two public bodies and avoid ending up in a formal court of law. The fact is, the borough received a complaint and they would be failing in their duty if they didn't follow it up.'

The committee voted to accept Cllr Sherrell's proposal on the casting vote of the chairman.