TRUSTEES of St James' Chapel in Okehampton claim a £130,000 enhancement scheme for the chapel area by West Devon Council has been imposed on them and is 'out of keeping and not sympathetic' to the historic building.

Chairman of the trustees, the Rev Russell Chamberlain, claimed they had been badly treated by the authority and their ideas had not been listened to.

'We have been told what the council is doing and that is not consultation,' he said.

But the reservations about the scheme have come as a surprise to deputy chief executive of the borough council David Inman who said the opportunities had been there to raise objections in four discussion meetings that were held.

Mr Chamberlain said the trustees had never supported this scheme for the area outside the chapel. They had always preferred the one drawn up for them by local architect Peter Woodgate in 1998 which had enjoyed popular support in the town.

The trustees' plan was deferred by the council's planning committee pending further investigation but Mr Chamberlain claims this has never taken place.

He said: 'Before we put in for planning permission, Peter spent a long time talking with the planning officers from West Devon who were enthusiastic about the project and their ideas were incorporated into it.

'The grounds on which it was deferred were not insurmountable, hence its deferment rather than rejection.'

He said the original plan incorporated the theme of travel — traditionally Okehampton was a day's journey with packhorse from Exeter, Tavistock, Launceston and Torrington and so was a strategic place. Today it attracted many people using the moor and passing through the area and St James was also the patron saint of pilgrims.

Mr Woodgate's scheme included the use of granite stonewalls, a seating area, a sculpture of a walker and an element of Okehampton's history in commemorating the town's pig pound which stood adjacent to the chapel.

Public reaction was very positive after a plan appeared in the Okehampton Times and most of the money for the £35,000 project had been secured, said Mr Chamberlain.

The present scheme, which has been designed by Ray Smith, the artist employed by the borough council to come up with a series of concepts for Okehampton's regeneration, includes a granite cross sculpture, a paved granite relaxation area reflecting the theme of the town's rivers and seats and planters.

Mr Chamberlain said the trustees, who had met their West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett to press their points, felt the use of 'Chinese granite and manufactured stone blocks' was inappropriate and their views had been echoed by people in the community.

'People are saying to me, 'What is West Devon Borough Council doing to us?' he added.

Mr Burnett confirmed he had been approached by the trustees because they felt their voice was not being properly heard.

'I have written to the chairman of the policy and resources committee with copies going to the chief executive of the council to ensure that the views of the townspeople of Okehampton are being given due weight,' he said.

Mr Inman said it was disappointing that the trustees had now put forward this view.

He said: 'We had a series of meetings with them and they never expressed reservations until now.

'If they are unhappy then we will discuss their points and try to agree a scheme.'

Mr Inman said English Heritage had expressed some concerns about the trustees' proposal and it was agreed the application would be held in abeyance pending further discussion with the trustees — that, he believed, was what had happened.

'We have been striving to get a scheme that all parties are happy with and we have sought to incorporate the trustees' ideas,' he said.

He added that elements of the latest enhancement plan had been supported by residents at a public exhibition in the town last summer.

The paved area of the scheme, which was the responsibility of the county council, was due to start in June.

l Peter Woodgate has asked the Times to make clear that the granite cross was not part of the trustees' scheme and that on no occasion had he spoken to Mr Inman about the development.