A CALL for an end to the secrecy surrounding the hugely expensive three-year legal battle between Tavistock Town Council and a contractors firm — resulting in a 400 per cent rate hike this year for the town's ratepayers — has been made by West Devon MP John Burnett.

Last month, the Mayor of Tavistock Judith Williams, replied to a letter from Mr Burnett confirming that the drawn-out arbitration proceedings had recently been concluded.

But councillors are staying tight-tipped about who won or what the outcome means for ratepayers. And the town clerk stressed there has been no 'cover up'.

The town council paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to solicitors during the case involving a dispute over work carried out on council-owned buildings. If the arbitration decision went against the authority that money will have been lost.

In May, Mr Burnett wrote demanding answers from the council after being bombarded with letters from angry and upset constituents.

Mr Burnett said: 'I have been contacted by many people who have written and rung the office. The town council rate increase was extremely hard for all rate payers to find, especially those on low or fixed incomes or pensions.

'The public are desperate to know if there will be another large additional demand next year — they also want to know whether there is a chance of a repayment of this year's charge.'

It took two months for the town council to reply and then Mrs Williams said she was unable to answer most of Mr Burnett's questions due to the confidential nature of arbitration proceedings.

She wrote: 'Much as the council might prefer to be as open as possible with local ratepayers, the council's opponents have made it abundantly clear that under no circumstances will they waive their right to the confidentiality of the proceedings.'

But Mr Burnett said the public has a right to know how its money is spent — he is determined to find out the facts and will not let the matter rest.

'I am in contact with the district auditor — I shall be asking for a full report on the expenditure,' he said.

The MP is also trying to find out if the council, as a public authority, even acted legally by entering into such a confidential contract.

'I appreciate the council entered into a contract with a constaints provision and it is bound by that — nevertheless I shall be finding out what payments have been made and whether this secrecy agreement can be put aside, especially now the matter has been concluded.'

The town council's documentation has been prepared and will be inspected by the district auditor by September 30.

Mr Burnett said he expected the audit commissioner's report would be available to the public before the end of the year.

The town council rate rise had a knock-on effect throughout West Devon — Tavistock's demand nudged the borough council rates increase up so much the authority lost around £60,000 in subsidies from central government.

Mr Burnett is trying to get help for West Devon from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

He has discussed the matter with ministers who are 'reasonably sympathetic' and will attend a meeting later this month at the DETR with borough councillors and officers to explain West Devon's position further.

'We are working hard to see what can be done to waive the fine,' he said.

Mrs Williams told the Times: 'Mr Burnett knows exactly the rules that govern the arbitration.

'We have been told we are not allowed to talk to anyone at all. As much as we would like to, we are guided by the laws of the land.'

However, she confirmed the arbitration had been concluded.

And town clerk Roger Howard said; 'The district auditor has always been kept in the picture. Nothing has been hidden at all over the three years — in so far as we can tell them what has been going on. There is no cover up.'