WE want to thank most warmly those residents who went to the trouble to search out the Guides Hall on Friday afternoon and Monday evening of last week to give us their views on the new Local Plan for West Devon and particularly future house-building in Tavistock.

We had two lively and interesting sessions. Six or seven of us town and borough councillors were present to try to explain the niceties of the borough's proposals to local residents, though it was not always that simple.

The hall was often crowded out and at times looked like a school-room with people at half a dozen tables poring over the maps and wrestling with the forms in order to record their objections to some of the new policies.

Over one hundred formal objections were written and have been passed to the council staff for processing. We are grateful to the residents of Tavistock for demonstrating that local democracy works.

We regret Cllr Caroline Keane who encouraged your readers to be 'positive and progressive' about the Local Plan (Letters, May 16) did not join us. Had she attended, she would have heard, as we did, of the importance attached by many residents to the availability of more affordable homes to enable more young people and single people to live in the town.

She would also have heard, as we did, of much public concern about traffic congestion in the town centre, the risk of even worse congestion in local schools, the fear of more flooding from overloaded and antiquated drains, and of course the threat to the beautiful countryside that surrounds the town at present.

Cllrs Pat Warne, David Stapleton, Dick Eberlie

OUR borough council seems to have concluded in the latest version of its Local Plan that Tavistock can accommodate even more houses than previously proposed without significant loss of residential amenity and environmental quality.

While the emphasis on provision of 'affordable housing' to meet local need is to be welcomed, the lack of any clear indication of what infrastructure improvements will be made to meet the needs of the increased number of residents is a cause for concern. This is especially so since the areas designated for most of the additional housing are already showing signs of strain, particularly in relation to road traffic.

Given these increased pressures, it is quite extraordinary that the borough has decided to retain its policy of severely restricting infill development in selected parts of the town, namely the Down Road/Chollacott Lane areas.

Spring is perhaps the best time of year to appreciate just how much the visual appeal of Tavistock depends upon the trees which remain within our urban areas. They must be retained and more planted wherever possible. However, this applies throughout the town, not just in Down Road and Chollacott Lane. Indeed, since the housing density in these two areas is amongst the lowest in Tavistock, carefully planned infill development here would have less environmental impact than in parts of town where space is more limited.

Peter Donkin

9 Chestnut Close

Bishopsmead

IT is rather ungracious of Caroline Keane (Letters, May 16) to note that many councillors and residents objecting to the expansion of Bishopsmead live at 'prestigious addresses in Whitchurch'. Surely inverted snobbery and the politics of envy have no place in a rational debate about the future of our town?

Or may I apply for a discount in my council tax on the basis that my views are not valued so much, living as I do in Whitchurch?

Who indeed is entitled to object to the negative visual impact of new houses, or the increased strain on our facilities and infrastructure, if not the people who will see this huge development from their windows? No, we do not want to live in a timewarp, we want to preserve and protect what is unspoilt and good. Once the houses are built, those green and pleasant fields are gone forever, and for whose benefit?

Ms Keane's jibes about commuters miss the point entirely, as the new homes will appeal hugely to commuters and retirees. If she were basing her comments in fact, she would know that in law there is nothing that can be done to reserve these new homes for locals or low earners - it is a free market.

Ann L Keelan

140 Whitchurch Road

Tavistock

I REMEMBER that a few years ago, when my husband was a member of the borough council, we were told that there was no waiting list for the council houses, which meant that the housing needs of young and old were catered for.

Yet now, not very long after, we are told that Tavistock needs over 600 houses so that the local young people can obtain low-cost houses.

Could it be that the population explosion in Tavistock is a little excessive?

Hilary Williams

3 Downlea

Tavistock