AN appeal for funding by a West Devon tourism group was last week given the thumbs down by Tavistock Town Council. Dartmoor Tourist Association has provisionally booked Tavistock Town Hall for the culmination of its poetry month next April. Part of the event includes a children?s poetry competition with a special prizegiving ? photos of the winners and their entries will be featured in a special booklet and placed on the DTA website. The DTA asked the council?s finance committee if it would consider paying the fee for hiring the hall for the event. Cllr Jenny Metcalf said the DTA did a ?huge amount of work? for the benefit of the local economy and proposed the council contribute £87.50, half the cost of hire. But Cllr Norma Woodcock said the council should be ?very clear? regarding the use of the town hall: ?We have a very clear policy about charging for the town hall, and that is everybody pays the full amount ? the only way they don?t is when a grant is made to that association. ?This is not a charity, it is a not-for-profit organisation and one that has a budget.? She proposed the council write to the DTA and explain its application did not fall within grant criteria. The committee agreed the request for funding should be rejected ? the decision was due to be ratified at this Tuesday?s meeting of the full council.
