AN annual highlight on Devon's running calendar has been cancelled this year, for the first time in more than ten years.

Tavistock Athletic Club's Tavy 7 race, which attracts hundreds of athletes from across the south west, will not take place this year after ongoing disagreements with land-owners about the use of Whitchurch Down on Remembrance Sunday meant there was not enough time to plan the event.

Owners of the down, Tavistock Town Council, withdrew permission for the event to be staged on Remembrance Sunday as it has been for many years, following complaints received last year about tannoy announcements cutting into the nearby church service and traditional silence in Whitchurch.

The club has since been in negotiations with other landowners but decisions have been made too late to be able properly to arrange and advertise the event.

Allan Herdman, chairman of Tavistock Athletic Club, said: 'We have reluctantly decided to cancel the event. It was unavoidable, as there was too short notice to put alternative plans into action.

'We posted the cancellation on our website and we've already had some feedback from the running community saying how disappointed they are. It is a popular event —­ there were even people who are not trained runners who were going to have a go, and have been busy training for the race.

'There is a lot of disappointment, not only in the running community but for the athletic club as well.

'Tavy 7 has always been an event which raises funds for the club to finance training for youngsters and adults. The last two or three years the money from the race has been used to help pay our contribution to the running track at Tavistock College.'

Mr Herdman said the club had committed £100,000 towards the building of the running track. So far the club had raised about £60,000 and Mr Herdman was hoping it would be able to raise enough to pay the full amount by the end of the summer, but the cancellation of the Tavy 7 race would be a knock-back.

'Our forecasts thought the race would raise about £5,000 which would go towards our promised contribution and we were planning to raise the rest by the summer but that won't be able to happen now.'

Mr Herdman said the event would definitely be going ahead next year: 'We obviously need to talk about next year but we are looking at holding the event, possibly on a completely different date, and certainly at a different venue, starting and finishing on Plasterdown.

'Have no fear we will be back, hopefully bigger and definitely better.'