THE FORMER old folks rest room in Tavistock is again the subject of an appeal by owners of the building who want to turn it into a shop.

Hunstrete Estates was refused permission to demolish the Brook Street site and build a retail unit on it by West Devon Borough Council's planning committee in July last year.

Planners said it would be an unacceptable loss of a community facility and the proposed design was unacceptable in a conservation area.

A previous application was refused on similar grounds and the planning inspector was in agreement when it went to appeal the first time.

Users of the rest room fought a hard campaign to save the facility from closing but had to find new premises when the lease ran out on the property exactly a year ago.

Since then the old folks have been meeting at the Ancourage Centre in Tavistock but there were hopes that the rest room could be retained for community use as it was intended when it was built 60 years ago to mark the Queen's Coronation.

The appeal will be decided by written representations and anyone wishing to write a letter should submit it to The Planning Inspectorate, Temple Quay House, 2, The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN by March 18.