CAMPAIGNERS hoping to save Tavistock's old folks' rest room from demolition are outraged the planning meeting where its fate will be decided is taking place at the other end of the borough. Many of the elderly users of the rest room will not be able to attend the meeting at Hatherleigh Community Centre on July 22, which is 40 minutes away by car, even though they say they would like to turn out in numbers to show their opposition to the scheme. Owner of the Brook Street building, Hunstrete Estates, wants to demolish the rest room and build a retail unit at the prime town centre spot and is re-submitting an application withdrawn last year. Ron Lee, who regularly uses the rest room, said they would be lucky to get half a dozen people at the meeting: 'Why have it all the way up in Hatherleigh when the issue is here in Tavistock?' he said. ' I think it is a very undemocratic thing to do. Perhaps they don't want any protesters and that's why it is being held in Hatherleigh.' Supporter of the rest room Chris Harrap said she had made a request for the venue to be changed so it was closer to home, hopefully the town hall. 'How mad is it to hold the meeting at Hatherleigh? How can the people it affects most possibly attend — where is the sense in that? Let's hope common sense prevails and councillors don't run scared of the elderly of our town,' she said. Chairman of West Devon Borough Council's planning committee, Philip Sanders, said the problem with planning meetings was that venues were booked and paid for in advance and with the exception of one meeting all the meetings had been held at Hatherleigh over the last 12 months while building work takes place at the council's offices at Kilworthy Park in Tavistock. He said the rest room would be the first item on the agenda so people did not have to hang around for a long time. 'I think there is possibly some sort of misconception that people can give their views at the meeting,' he said. 'In fact only one objector is allowed to speak for three minutes and usually there is someone speaking for the application. The meeting is open to the public but no-one else would be able to take part.' He added that it may be possible for an organisation like TASS (Tavistock Area Support Services) to arrange a community bus to take people to the meeting or councillors or officers could give lifts to people if need be. Rest room committee member Janet Piper said the committee had been encouraging people to write individual letters against the application to the planning authority but there was not much else it could do. 'We manage the rest room on a day to day basis serving cups of tea but really it's between the town council and Hunstrete Estates,' she said. 'I think the chances of saving it are extremely slim but we can only hope that we can get some other provision for the elderly.' Built by public subscription in 1954 for use by the over 60s, the rest room is leased to the town council for a peppercorn rent. The proposed redevelopment of the premises has been known about for some time but if this does not go ahead, the rent would go up to 50% of the retail value of the property in February 2009, under the terms of the lease. Planning officers confirmed this week there had been 52 letters of objections against the proposal.
