THE last paragraph of Cllr Sellis's letter last week says it all! We are apparently wasting everyone's time attending 'public consultations' as the decisions have all been taken, like it or not.

At the presentation in the pannier market regarding the proposed railway and 750 houses, my estimate was that 90% of the attendees whilst I was there were against the proposals. I completed the questionnaire and requested that the results be published. No such luck, suggesting that the wishes of the local population are against the contents of the core strategy imposed on us by Devon County Council?

Regarding 'who pays?' for the white elephant railway, There is only one answer, us, the tax payers, be it in council or income tax.

So, we're going to get 750 houses when we only really wanted or need 250, and a railway costing in excess of £18-million to build and who knows how much to maintain, which I believe will be used by very few. Who will take a train to Derriford, Plymouth Argyle, Tesco, offices and factories around the north of Plymouth, and indeed shopping in the city centre, where the shops are a good walk from the railway station?

Finally, suddenly we have supermarket chains falling over themselves to come to Tavistock, no doubt fuelled by the thought of milking the 'new estate' of somewhere in excess of 2,500 customers. I guess that if the housing project was to vanish, so would the enquiring supermarkets!

Chris Dicker

Tavistock

I'D like to thank the respective parties for commenting (Times, March 14) on the proposals to re-instate the railway from Tavistock to Bere Alston, although it appears the clarity sought was replaced with the usual spin and 'council speak' we have become so used to.

Let's see some facts and figures pertaining to the costs of re-opening the line, and, heaven forbid, a business case for the project, and stop relying on vague promises of funding from as yet un-named sources.

The project to re-open the line has so far taken eight years since Kilbride first got involved. It appears that it still could take another eight years before the scheme is realised, if ever, by which time Tavistock could be blessed with 750 new homes and no extra infrastructure to accomodate them.

Chris Saville

via email

I AM afraid the article 'Focus on railway re-instatement funding plans' in last week's Times, did nothing to enlighten me any further as to how, exactly, the proposed railway re-instatement is to be paid for.

Every time anybody, either from the various councils or the firms involved, says anything on the subject, it is so full of bureaucratic speak, vague pronouncements and waffle as to render it totally impossible to comprehend.

Please can we have a full and detailed explanation of the costs and funding of the project in language that we can all understand?

Catherine Trafford-Smith

Tavistock