ENGLISH Heritage is considering an application to list the Old Folks? Rest Room in Tavistock in the latest bid by the town to save the facility. Hunstrete Estates, owners of the site, wants to demolish the town centre structure, which was built by public subscription more than 50 years ago, and provide a retail unit. But there has been strong opposition to the move and campaigners have presented a petition of more than 1,000 names against the redevelopment plans to West Devon Borough Council. The old folks also staged a recent sit-in at the rest room where they were joined by West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox. Tavistock Town Council, which pays a peppercorn rent to lease the rest room, has applied to get the building listed so it can be preserved for the future. Cllr Brian Trew at last week?s meeting of the town?s properties committee said it was a good stalling tactic because ?not a brick could be moved? until English Heritage had made a decision on it. But if the building does stay, the rent is likely to increase to 50% of the open market rent in 2009 and 75% in 2014 for the remaining five years of the lease. Hunstrete?s agent David Mills said in a letter to the council that the landlord had shown the local community goodwill rather than taking a purely commercial approach when the new 15-year lease was agreed in 2004. It was agreed the peppercorn rent of £5 a year could continue for the first five years of that lease because the council, on behalf of the rest room committee, said a commercial rent would not be affordable, but after that time it would increase. Mr Mills said it had also been agreed by both parties that the landlord would submit a planning application for the redevelopment of the site. It was understood to be to the rest room committee?s benefit in supporting this, as provision was made for a sum of money towards the relocation. Either party could end the lease at one of the five yearly break points within it. Mr Mills added: ?In hindsight if the council?s representatives were unhappy with the terms of the new lease, then at that stage it would have been more appropriate not to renew the lease and vacate the building when the original lease ended on February 21, 2004.? Cllr David Best said committee members should take a very close look at the lease because the rest room should not be considered the same as a shop. The town council has another option ? to look for an alternative site to provide a rest room for the elderly but this decision is on hold until the listing application is considered.
