PENSIONERS bearing placards will be staging a mass sit-in at Tavistock?s old folks? rest room tomorrow (Friday) in a bid to keep it open. All supporters of the rest room are being urged to come along between 10.15am and 11.15am and join in the fight against the demolition of the facility. Owners Hunstrete Estates want to knock down the rest room in Duke Street and redevelop the site for retail purposes . But the move has sparked a huge protest in the community ? a petition of more than 1,000 names opposing the proposal has been submitted to West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee. For more than 50 years the rest room has been used by the elderly for rest, refreshment and companionship and its town centre location with easy access to public transport has made it extremely popular with the over 60s, particularly those who are less mobile. Member of the management committee Enid Gent said she wanted as many people as possible to come and show their fighting spirit at the ?sit in? where they would be joined by West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox. She said: ?We are hoping for a wonderful lot of people ? users and supporters. ?One lady hopes to bring her accordian and someone has suggested the first song should be ?We Shall Not Be Moved?.? Mrs Gent said Friday was the rest room?s busiest day because many of the shopping buses came in from the outlying villages. ?Three weeks ago we had 134 people during the morning,? she said. Tavistock Town Council, which leases the building from Hunstrete Estates, is monitoring the number of people who use the rest room. Town clerk Roger Howard says there is little it can do to stop the demolition as the redevelopment was included in the terms of the lease, but councillors will have to decide whether to provide an alternative facility. The rest room was built by public subscription in the early 1950s. The town council pays a peppercorn rent of £5 a year to Hunstrete ? the lease is up for renewal in April 2009. In a letter to the editor in this week?s Times, former town mayor John Warne from Gulworthy suggests the town or borough council could set a one-off precept against the council tax in order to buy the property from Hunstrete for townspeople. Town and borough councillor Ted Sherrell said he fully supported the actions by the users of the rest room in holding the sit-in. ?As long as it is peaceful and legal I will support any action,? he said. ?This is a much used, much appreciated facility and one provided by very few towns elsewhere. ?It is heartening, indeed admirable, that so many people in our town and area are prepared to fight so hard to preserve it. ?The strongest possible message is being sent to the developers that the old folks? rest room should be left alone.? Town councillors vowed to fight the proposal at the meeting. Cllr Mandy Govier said the rest room provided ?a hugely valuable service? to elderly and vulnerable people in Tavistock and the surrounding area. ?Elderly shoppers go there, have a coffee, meet up with friends, dump their bags there and then go out to get other things. It?s actually extremely well used now ? it?s quite a unique facility and that?s what makes Tavistock that little bit different. ?If these people don?t have this room they may not come into town anymore. There is the social element ? these people may not then be leaving their homes.? Geoffrey Cox MP said: ?Tavistock is a unique town and a very special community. ?The rest room is a mark of the town?s care for the elderly, many of whom rely on public transport to bring them in to do their shopping in surrounding villages. ?It is also a haven where they can sit in peace without feeling worried that they have to buy anything, and a meeting place where they can catch up with old friends. ?This ?sit-in? is a measure of how strongly people feel about the rest room and it would be a shame, after 50 years, to see it go without an adequate replacement.?
