FORMAL backing for a bid which could see up to £2-million worth of investment in Tavistock's historic town centre was agreed at a meeting last week.

Tavistock Town Council agreed to support the town's heritage partnership group's bid to the National Lottery's Townscape Heritage Initiative — and to play a major role in its implementation, if the application is successful.

The council's finance committee had already recommended supporting the bid. But several members last week expressed concern about the financial commitment required on behalf of the town council — some £300,000 over five years — without a 'cast iron guarantee' that this money, along with the grant funding, would be invested in the two buildings classed as 'critical' to the bid application — the pannier market and auction rooms.

Cllr David Rose said he felt 'very uncomfortable' about the 'significant' amount of money the council would have to invest, when he did not feel it would have much control about how the funding was spent.

Cllr Philip Sanders said it would be 'a shame' not to take the opportunity and back the bid, but he thought the town council should demonstrate its growing maturity as a local authority and be the accountable body for the scheme, instead of West Devon Borough Council, as was outlined in the draft bid.

Cllr Dick Eberlie said he saw the term 'accountable body' as a purely technical term.

'The most important issue is one of trust,' he said. 'There is no cast iron guarantee in any of this but I would have thought there was sufficient trust between the local authorities to go ahead.

'I believe we are now working very well together. There has been a major leap forward in trust between the two authorities and this surely is the opportunity to demonstrate it.'

Town mayor Cllr Anne Johnson said: 'This scheme is about regeneration, it's about employment opportunities. We have a wonderful heritage and it's about preserving and enhancing it and I am very much in favour of this bid.'

Town clerk Carl Hearn explained to members that because the auction rooms and pannier market had been identified as critical, if the bid to the lottery was successful, the money would have to be spent on those two buildings.

'These monies would be ring fenced to us, they can't be used anywhere else, so the scheme is absolutely dependant on the delivery of the work on those two buildings,' he said.

Cllr Brian Trew's proposal that the council back the bid, and also take a major part in the scheme, acting as accountable body, should the bid be successful, was passed.

West Devon Borough Council's resources committee was due to be asked to give its backing to the bid on Tuesday.