A TAVISTOCK community group this week hit out at a policy which prevents it using Bedford Square to advertise a forthcoming event.
Tavistock Musical Theatre Company is staging Calamity Jane at the Wharf next month ? but when it asked the town council for permission to distribute promotion leaflets from a model ?Deadwood Stage? on the square, it was turned down.
Peter Clements, chairman of the company, said: ?We were refused on the grounds we don?t hold £5 million worth of public liability insurance, although the company does have £2 million worth.
?We didn?t think distributing leaflets was such a risky business. We?d bought this model stagecoach for the show, we?ve painted it up and it would have looked really effective ? the company is very disappointed we can?t use the square in this way.?
Mr Clements said he thought the policy, which was preventing a small income community group from using the most central and obvious point of the town to publicise its activities, was ?atrocious?.
?Surely that?s what they wanted to happen on the square? We could up our insurance but it would cost us money when really, we think we should be able to use the square without having to do that.
?Eddie Carruthers, the market reeve, has been exceptionally good to us and he?s allowing us to use the perimeter of the pannier market, but we think it?s such a shame we can?t go on the square.?
Town clerk Roger Howard said the draft rules regarding hiring of Bedford Square had been drawn up by Devon County Council.
He said town councillors agreed the £5-million public liability insurance rule for all users was ?ridiculous? in the case of small community groups, and negotiations had been taking place to try and exempt these organisations from the rules.
He said: ?We have not had any new rules back from county yet so we are still working to the original ones.
?Because we are only their agents with regard to booking the square we have to work to what they say and we haven?t had it back in black and white that the rules have changed.?
l Calamity Jane is being staged at The Wharf next month ? opening night is Tuesday November 2, the production runs until Saturday November 6. See page 41 for pictures.