FURTHER work to remediate 19th century shallow mine workings in an area of Tavistock will be discussed with local residents at a meeting called by West Devon Borough Council tomorrow (Friday). People living in the Drake Gardens and Crelake area of the town will be given an update on investigation works carried out by the borough council late last year. Funded by a £60,000 government grant from English Partnerships, the exploratory work has given the council sufficient detail to plan and cost a remediation scheme. The shallow mine workings were discovered in Drake Gardens just over five years ago. Since then, the borough council, home owners in Drake Gardens, housing association West Devon Homes and Devon County Council have been working together to resolve the issue. Some residents moved out of their homes two years ago as a precautionary measure and six homes — including five owned by West Devon Homes — remain empty. The meeting, to be held at Tavistock College, will be chaired by Torridge and West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox, who has worked alongside the council to help residents affected by the situation. Council officers and Tavistock engineering consultants Frederick Sherrell will outline to residents the next stage of the works, which is likely to cause some parking and traffic issues in the area while it is being carried out. The council has already held talks with English Partnerships about funding the remediation works. David Banks, the council's lead officer on the project, said that the homeowners, including West Devon Homes, who are directly affected by the shallow mine workings were fully behind the remediation plans. 'The homeowners had formed their own residents' group early on for support and to progress negotiations. Mr Banks said: 'We're inviting residents from the wider area of Drake Gardens and Crelake to the meeting to explain what the investigations have uncovered. 'It's a good opportunity to tell everyone what the next stage of the works will be which may cause a little inconvenience with parking and traffic but will bring good for the wider community as a whole.' Local ward member Mandy Govier, who has also been working alongside the residents, said: 'Our main objective in resolving this issue is to protect the safety of our residents, restore confidence in the housing market in the area and bring those six empty homes back into use.'
