A REFUSAL by police in West Devon to manage traffic or road closures in Tavistock during Goose Fair sparked outrage during a meeting in the town last week. The town council?s properties committee was told that following a policy change, the council would have to make arrangements according to the Road Traffic Acts of 1974 from now on. Any uniformed officer involved in traffic management would cost the town £50 an hour. Councillors last Tuesday reacted angrily to the police decision. Cllr Ted Sherrell said it was ?scandalous? and claimed that while the cost of policing Goose Fair had risen considerably, the service provided had diminished at a similarly considerable rate. He urged the council to fight the ?draconian reduction in service and iniquitous increase in costs? in any way it could. Cllr Mandy Govier said the move was ?appalling? and would probably affect other events in the town too, such as Dickensian Evening and next year?s carnival. Cllr Philip Sanders, vice-chairman of the finance committee, suggested the council should think about use of the Guildhall Car Park by the police station. Cllr Debo Sellis said the council should take ?a strong stance? over the issue. Town clerk Roger Howard said: ?They still have a statutory duty to stop crimes, which they can?t wriggle out of, but they are declining to take any part in traffic management or closing of roads. ?It?s the whole of West Devon that?s affected by this. Totnes has their fair very soon and they have been dumped with the problem with even less time to solve it than we have.? Tavistock Police Station has the use of seven spaces in Guildhall Car Park, delineated by double yellow lines. Col Howard said: ?At 60p per hour, we are talking about £10,920 per year ? it?s really a grant from the council to the police.? Cllr Mandy Govier proposed the council should withdraw from the current arrangement ? a move the committee backed. But the recommendation was refused by the full council on Tuesday night over fears that the move would ?alienate? the police. Councillors were told it was no longer the duty of the police to manage traffic, and Devon and Cornwall was no different from anywhere else in the country in this respect. Traffic management for Goose Fair cost in excess of £4,000 last year and the council will now have to look at alternative arrangements and costings. There were concerns that if the costs continued to soar, the event might be under threat in the future. Insp Ian Milligan, of Tavistock Police Station, said: ?The police and the town council have traditionally had an excellent working relationship and I see no reason why that should change. Insp Milligan said the police were committed to attending Goose Fair and he hoped talks would resolve any misunderstanding.
