THE Conservatives gained a seat on Tavistock Town Council at last Thursday?s by-election. The poll took place to fill the Tavistock South Ward seat, which fell vacant on the death of Labour town councillor, Betty Batchelor, in February. Conservative Philip Richard Sanders was elected with 543 votes. The only other candidate was Alex Wood, Liberal Democrat, who polled 474 votes. The turnout was 31.03%. The council now has nine Independent councillors, four Conservatives and four Liberal Democrats. Cllr Sanders, 58, is married with two sons. He moved to Tavistock in 1974 and, after many years working full-time in the health service, is now a self-employed management consultant in the healthcare sector. He has been a member of Dartmoor Rescue Group for 25 years and spent two three year periods as an independent Secretary of State appointee on the National Park Authority. He is also a Duke of Edinburgh Award assessor, and used to run a youth club in Whitchurch. He said he was keen to see the town continue to thrive, and to address issues such as traffic and car parking. ?It is important we retain the market town concept and must ensure small businesses are able to thrive. The town council has a role to play in that,? Cllr Sanders said. ?We must also make sure we don?t lose the younger members of the community, who are our future, but who are often forced to move away due to the cost of housing and lack of employment. We must ensure that affordable housing and employment are available.?