THE opportunity to be a leading voice on a development blueprint which will determine the shape of Tavistock until 2026 came under the spotlight at a meeting in the town last week.

Members of Tavistock Town Council heard the process designed to put detail into West Devon Borough Council's Core Strategy for the town was now under way.

The strategy includes the construction of 750 new homes in Tavistock, a replacement primary school, a dementia unit and the re-opening of the Tavistock to Bere Alston rail link.

Cllr Mandy Ewings said the design brief meeting was a follow-up of a meeting held in December. Consultants employed by the borough council took away ideas from that meeting and came back with a 'schematic' plan for people to look through.

She said it was 'disappointing' that she was the only West Devon Borough Council member for Tavistock present at the meeting — there were also only four town councillors present.

She urged members to 'lead from the front' regarding the future shape of Tavistock: 'If we don't attend these meetings, they will think Tavistock Town Council couldn't care less.

'As many of us as possible should attend to keep the pressure up. We all chose to represent the people of Tavistock — we have a duty to be at every meeting possible, otherwise things might get through in Tavistock that we may not particularly want — I can't emphasise this enough.'

Cllr Ewings said there were already changes to what had been included in the original Core Strategy document — a new hospital which had been proposed was now not included — a casualty of public spending cuts.

'A lot of people had differing views again this time. The consultants have taken that work away again and they are going to start a draft development brief which will come back again for consultation,' she said.

'It's still early-ish days — there is still room to manoeuvre, but it's not such a blank piece of paper any more.'

Cllr Harry Smith, chairman of the council's finance committee, did go to the meeting.

He said: 'There are lots of ideas on paper. The basics of how the thing will be set out were there — there are still opportunities to make changes but we are a long way along the road to what will eventually be the outcome.

'Lots of groups of people were putting forward ideas of what they would like to see.'

Cllr Smith asked if it would be possible for the consultants involved in the meeting to make a presentation to the town council.

Town mayor Cllr Philip Sanders said members would all have individual opinions on any proposals being worked up as part of the design brief consultation, but he suggested the council needed to form a collective view.

Deputy mayor Cllr Anne Johnson said the work involved in the consultation process was 'too onerous' for just one councillor — an approach similar to the one adopted when the council was working on a response to the original Core Strategy proposals, involving a small working party, was more suitable.

The council agreed a group made up of the chair of the planning committee, currently Cllr David Whitcomb, plus councillors Eberlie, Smith, Ewings, Johnson and Metcalf would take up the challenge.

The group would contact the consultants working on the design brief to see if they could attend a council meeting to make a presentation. The expert previously involved with the council's official response to the Core Strategy would also be contacted.