CONCERNS were raised last week at Tavistock Town Council over the lack of action to repair the ‘dangerous’ cobbled courtesy crossings in Tavistock.

An urgent appeal was started earlier this year by the council, after several people obtained injuries on the uneven surfaces.

Tavistock resident, Sandra Dineley-Jones was one of the individuals to fall and said she was told by her doctors that she must recuperate for six to eight weeks to allow her injuries to heal.

The fall in July, came just a few weeks after two Tavistock town councillors, Cllr Jeff Moody and Cllr John Sheldon, decided to address the damaged and dangerous crossings following two serious accidents on the courtesy crossing between the town hall and St Eustachius’ Church — approximately 25 metres from where Ms Dineley-Jones fell.

Despite the launch of an urgent appeal and a number of posts on social media from Tavistock councillors highlighting the problem areas, at a recent council meeting it was agreed that little had been done to resolve the issue.

At Tavistock Town Council on Tuesday, September 8, Cllr Mandy Ewings said: ‘I find it very concerning. I can’t walk looking onwards, I have to look down to avoid the cobbles.

‘It’s really dangerous now. I really hope instead of comments or reports something will be done.

‘There have been actual incidents and real injuries which have involved operations and stays in hospital.

‘We need to pressure Devon County Council into doing something about it.’

Cllr John Sheldon responded: ‘It has to be noted that Devon County Council is in talks with a conservation officer but it does seem a long time when we are all falling over.’

When the urgent appeal was first launched a spokesperson for Devon County Council commented that the crossing points in Drake Road were being monitored — they had become uneven due to heavy traffic but were considered a safety defect.

They also said that a number of factors had to be taken into consideration when selecting a material to fix the crossing, such as skid resistance and durability.

Devon County Council has since worked on some of the pedestrian crossings, however Cllr Julia Whitcomb suggested that the county council was cutting costs: ‘They put tarmac down because they won’t pay for the cobbles to be replaced,’ she said.

Devon County Councillor, Debo Sellis said: ‘When I heard there had been accidents I got straight onto it and contacted the highways officers, who have since filled in the cracks.

‘All along I have been working with them and I don’t think people realise that with the highways officers are dealing with incidents up and down the motorway — they have 8,000 miles of major roads to look after.

‘We have been looking at ways of getting older fashioned tarmac to be in-fitting with the heritage. On a personal level I would like to see it made safe.

‘The number of incidents have been reduced significantly and we do take it seriously.’

Cllr Jeff Moody, who is one of two councillors to initially address the issue, regularly lobbies Devon County Council on social media with photographs of the cobbles and accounts of people who have fallen over.

He said: ‘Day by day people are falling over. It seems the county council is saying: ‘Yes we are aware; yes we are inspecting it; yes we are in talks with a conservation officer and it just goes on and on. How many more people need to be injured.’

‘I understand there might be budgetary restrictions but surely there could be a sign saying uneven surface. It’s the combination of uneven surfaces, raised cobbles and traffic. It’s not a good combination of risks.’

‘If they can’t do anything about it I’d like to know why. Regulations say if there is a hazard over 20mm it should be temporarily repaired in 24 hours or permanently repaired in seven days.

‘It is blindingly obvious that something needs to be done.’

Devon County Council was unavailable for comment as the Times went to press.