FOLLOWING Alison Wright's excellent letter (August 6) I would urge everyone to take part in the parish poll today (Thursday) regarding the Core Strategy and West Devon Borough Council's plan to re-open the railway and build a link road across the Tavy Valley around a housing estate of 750 houses off the Callington Road.

Although at this very late stage the result can only be advisory to the Planning Inspectorate, a clear result would surely have some influence on the final outcome.

This is not a NIMBY debate. It concerns a major housing development which will have a dramatic effect on the future of our lovely market town, its community and the environment in which we live.

It will create effectively a 'new town' on the edge of Tavistock, no doubt with the intention of encouraging a dormitory commuter area for Plymouth, using a railway line whose long-term financial viability is seriously in doubt, and will carve up the beautiful Tavy Valley with a major link road adjacent to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a World Heritage site.

The council advise that it has taken four years to produce the Core Strategy and that there is a need to have an agreed strategy in place within the next year in order to keep unwanted planning applications at bay. This is the last chance for the people of Tavistock to influence the future of the area. Please come out and vote!

Gillian Hiles, Tavistock

'OUR strategy is the best, says borough' (Times, August 6). What arrogance! 

Perhaps Cllr Moyse could explain who she means by 'our' strategy, who 'we' are?  Does she seriously consider she is representing the residents of the wider borough when she uses those words (and especially at this point of the process, when all representations have not yet been taken into consideration)?  Saying 'over the next few weeks we will be considering all the representations and deciding whether any changes should be made'  but then continuing by saying 'we know what is best' in advance of the absorbtion of those representations, arrogantly ignores the democratic consultation process. 

Cllr Moyse has inadvertently exposed the true way of thinking of the borough, in other words that the pretence of consultation must be gone through but effectively the electors' feelings can be ignored.

I don't think the patronising tone of 'we know best' is ever recognised by most of us as anything more than a disguise; a disguise for the fact that true democratic consultation has not taken place; a disguise for the fact that all the representations from the parish councils for help for their rural areas have been ignored; a disguise that the letters and on-line submissions by so many individual residents can be considered of no account, that both Tavistock's and Okehampton's representations can be dismissed.

The number of recent submissions shown on the Core Strategy website totals 233, the complete total given is 349. These range from letters from you and me who may be reading this, to parish councils, town councils, and agencies such as Devon County Council, the AONB, the Highways Agency, Plymouth CC and many others. 

The vast majority of all these submissions are critical. Their criticisms may vary in degree and incisiveness. But they are 99% against the policy in one way or another. 

It is all very well for Cllr Moyse to say that the Government Office South West commends the Core Strategy, but the sentence actually continues 'for making good progress'. There is plenty more that is not complimentary.  School reports can say 'making good progress' but the individual concerned can still end up at the bottom of the class.

Now, on Thursday August 13 there is a wonderful opportunity for true democracy to voice its opinion. The opportunity is here for us to vote that the Core Strategy be withdrawn and note taken of residents' wishes. A yes vote that the core strategy be rejected is all that is needed. There are plenty of us.  Come on, let's show 'em!

Jeremy Davies,

Tavistock