A REGENERATION agency for West Devon may be set up to help local businesses and community projects make the most of the opportunities available through the Market Towns Initiative.
West Devon Borough Council say the not for profit regeneration and development agency would be controlled at local level by employers, businesses and the wider community, with council members in the minority.
Borough councillors voted for officers to report back to the committee on the practicality of establishing a regeneration agency for West Devon at the strategic development committee meeting on October 9.
Cllr Nick Waterhouse was critical of the cost — estimated at nearly £600,000 over three years — of establishing a regeneration agency, and said a smaller scale agency which could be expanded if it was successful would be preferable to a larger, expensive one which might stifle grass roots action.
'I am not opposed to an agency, but there are issues that need to be examined,' he said.
The council will consult with other local authorities and funding partners, particularly South Hams District Council, on the scheme before reporting back to the committee.
The latest developments in the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative, which includes the areas of Tavistock, Okehampton and Hatherleigh, were also reviewed at the meeting.
The Market Town Initiative aims to help communities affected by foot and mouth disease by funding economic, social and environmental projects through an area action plan to be submitted to the Regional Development Agency.