A VERY close eye will be kept on plans to build an extra 750 houses in Tavistock, the mayor assured members of the public at the annual town meeting last Tuesday.

The development, to be built by Bovis Homes, forms part of West Devon Borough Council's core strategy for the town, and linked to it is the reinstatement of the old Tavistock to Bere Alston railway.

But town resident Alex Mettler said he had been 'very disappointed' with the 'lacklustre' public exhibition recently mounted by Bovis.

He said: 'Bovis have no intention at all of giving anything towards the cost of the railway. And talking to the Bovis representatives, there's no intention of creating any facility out of that estate, other than Callington Road.'

Mr Mettler said a new road connecting Callington Road with Plymouth Road, to cater for the new development, had once been labelled as 'critical' in the core strategy, but ultimately had been taken out.

'Without it, the estate will be unsustainable — does the council have a view on this?' he asked.

Mayor Cllr Anne Johnson said the town council had looked very hard and in great depth at West Devon's core strategy during its consultation period.

She said: 'We were not very keen to see 750 houses on that one site. I certainly personally never held the view that the figures added up regarding the railway.

'This council will be watching very closely what is going on and we will have a very strong case to make about it — please don't just think we are letting this all happen because we won't.'

Cllr Ted Sherrell added: 'This council has long been opposed to this big development. Most of the town members on West Devon Borough Council were against it and it was sold on the story that it would provide a vast amount of money for the railway, school, hospital and relief road — and slowly but surely, the houses remain and the infrastructure has suddenly slipped into the background.

'It's been a con and the only way around it is to say, "Yes, build the houses — but build the infrastructure first" — I tell you, you wouldn't see a house built.'

Cllr Mandy Ewing said the new road had been deemed critical, but it was Devon County Council which had taken it out, and she understood the county council would now also be sourcing the funds for the re-instatement of the railway.

She also believed that future developments in the Tavistock area, not just the Bovis site, would be subject to planning conditions which would require contributions to the railway project.

The mayor told the meeting it had been a busy year so far for the council, with many events taking place since she had taken office.

The town council continued to work with its partners for the good of Tavistock, and was forming a closer relationship with the borough council in support of the Government's localism agenda

She said day to day work continued to maintain and improve the town's buildings and open spaces.

'We have done much but there is still much to do. We live in a special town and it is the intention of this council to support it in every way we can,' said the mayor.