THE number of houses planned for Tavistock and the countryside in general will be the subject of a seminar being held by the West Devon branch of The Campaign to Protect Rural England, (CPRE) this coming Friday at the Bedford Hotel.

The CPRE would like to make it clear that it is not an anti-housing lobby but has raised concerns about the number of houses — more than 1,000 — earmarked for the town.

Jill Stewart-Rattray, secretary of the CPRE West Devon said to the Times: ‘We appreciate there is a need, mostly at the lower end of the market and for those unable to purchase a property of their own. Our argument lies with overdevelopment of the wrong kind of provision swamping the countryside and small market towns such as Tavistock.’

The invited speaker will be Tom Jones, a planning officer at West Devon Borough Council.

‘If anyone has concerns about the current trend for large estates, built with little empathy for the immediate environment and with scant interest in providing affordable homes, please come and have your say,’ said Jill. ‘Questions will be taken from the floor.’

The CPRE extends a very warm welcome to any visitors who might like to come and hear these issues debated on Friday morning.

The seminar will take place at the Bedford Hotel in Tavistock from 10am to 1pm. There will be a charge for this event.

The Times will have a reporter at the event — pick up your copy of the February 14 edition of the Tavistock Times for a report of the seminar.