IN response to the letters, March 4, relating to the old folk's rest room which used to be in the centre of Tavistock. Your contributors seem to think Tavistock Town Council did nothing, or very little to fight for it to continue where it was.
The fact is that Tavistock Council have never owned the freehold of this land which was sold by the Congregational Church to Prudential, who later sold this on to Hunstrete Estates.
Tavistock Town Council had no say in the drawing up of the lease which was passed to us, as it stood, during local government changes in 1972.
Tavistock Town Council fought a legal battle with the freeholder for several years in an effort to retain this facility in its original location and incurred costs of £12,000 in doing so. Ultimately we lost, but we did offer a premises for the use as an old folks rest room with a generous annual grant.
On consideration, the committee for the rest room felt that this was something that they did not want to take advantage of.
Had the town council owned the freehold or had the lease been drawn up in a way which would protect the facility, none of this would have occurred and I urge others to use their councillor, who are here to support the community, more than they do.
Had your reader contacted their councillor, they would have realised that we are not all Promises and Platitudes as was stated but did our damnedest to do what we felt the community wishes of us.
Brian A A Trew
Chair of Properties
Tavistock Town Council