BOROUGH councillors postponed making a decision on long-promised affordable housing in Brentor after local councillors slammed a housing needs survey being used to justify abandoning it as ‘deeply flawed’ arguing that it did not provide a full picture.

Following a provisional announcement from the Tavistock Rotary Club that they were unable to run their annual Christmas meal event, the provision of help by TaviLinks has ensured that the event will go ahead this year.

The Okehampton and District Community Transport Group organised a special event to celebrate the generosity of two well-known coffee morning helpers Annie Wills and Mino Penna in their preparation to retire. The town mayor Bob Tolley surprised the two ladies with flowers and chocolates as a big thank you for their many years of service at the town’s coffee mornings.

Job losses and the closure of the award-winning visitor centre at Princetown are among proposed cuts by the Dartmoor National Park Authority as it faces a £500,000 deficit.

Dozens of Okehampton train station users have reported receiving parking fines despite being able to pay the fee as the ticket machine was out of order. Affected Okehampton residents came forward arguing that they had been issued with ‘unfair’ penalty charge notice by APCOA, the company managing the parking at the station, which had refused to repeal the fines of £50-100 despite being shown proof that customers could not pay because the ticket machine was not working.

Tavistock town councillors are determined to resist a new house building scheme which they claim could help turn Tavistock into a dormitary town, which they also argued young families are already being priced out of.

Following a cut to Okehampton’s bus services, some elderly residents have reported they are now struggling to carry out their weekly shop and feel more isolated as a result since the start of November, when bus company Stagecoach implemented its new bus timetable. Those no longer able to drive were being made to wait longer for buses in town due to a decrease in running services.

The chairman of a local pressure group campaigning to bring the railway back to Tavistock has welcomed a fresh bid to the Government to release the necessary millions to make it a reality. Richard Searight, chairman of TavyRail, said Devon County Council’s bid to the Government made a powerful case for reinstating the five miles of track which formerly ran between Tavistock and Bere Alston. The service would cater for up to 21,000 residents across Tavistock, Horrabridge, Lamerton and Mary Tavy.

Local people have banded together to try and save South Zeal’s local shop, The Stores, which is in danger of closure as the current owner plans to retire. West Devon Borough Councillor Lynn Daniel, South Tawton Parish Councillor Ken Crawford and Jill Hobbs, who works at the local church, have created a steering group to conduct research into the possibility of turning it into a community-owned store in order to ensure that villagers will still be able to access vital supplies.

An Okehampton cafe owner - Rebecca Green - has organised a public meeting for residents and local organisations to discuss the idea to battle food insecurity in the Okehampton area. The 3 East Street and Okehampton Community Kitchen owner held the meeting at the Ockment Centre where a range of members of the community pooled ideas to help support those struggling to cook or buy enough food for themselves as food prices and the cost of living continues to rise.