THE cobbled area by the old-fashioned red telephone box in the corner of Tavistock's Guildhall Car Park came in for some criticism during a meeting in the town last week.

The cobbles in the area have recently been re-instated, and the three planters that were situated there have been removed.

Town mayor Cllr Anne Johnson, during last week's meeting of the town council's properties committee, said: 'It doesn't look quite finished — it needs a bit of tidying up. What about this white stuff? Are we going to get some planters there?'

Cllr Julia Whitcomb agreed.

'I think it looks awful, I don't think it looks right at all,' she said.

Works superintendent Wayne Southall said the 'white stuff' which the mayor referred to was the cobbles' bedding mix, which would weather and become darker over a period of months. He said the work had been carried out with the full participation of West Devon Borough Council's conservation officer.

Mr Southall said: 'My understanding is the borough has undertaken a scouring exercise and all monies have been removed that were previously allocated for enhancements.'

Cllr Johnson said: 'It's the first place people see when they turn into the town centre.

'A lot of money has been spent getting the cobbles re-instated, it should look better than that.'

Cllr Johnson asked Mr Southall to liaise with the borough council on the issue and to ask if the planters would be reinstated.