IT came as no surprise last month when West Devon Borough Council lost its High Court challenge to overturn the planning decision for the Focus-Do-It-All site in Tavistock.

After all, the legal challenge was eight months out of time and the judge found that the council had no good reason to bring the claim.

Having wasted an estimated £50,000 on the failed High Court challenge, the council now finds it totally acceptable to increase West Devon residents' council tax bills in order to raise £70,000.

I find the whole situation repugnant and, in support of the West Devon council-tax payers, I voted wholeheartedly against the proposed council tax hike at the recent council meeting.

The question must now be asked what were the reasons behind the West Devon Conservative councillors' decision in voting unanimously to pursue an overtly out of date and futile High Court challenge?

Council tax payers also need to know why the council adopted such a leisurely approach in taking over five months, after seeking legal advice, to bring the issue to full council. Why wasn't there an appreciation of the need for urgency?

I believe that the time is ripe for West Devon council tax payers to demand a full explanation of why West Devon Conservatives voted to squander public monies.

Jeff Moody

West Devon Borough Council

Independent member Tavistock North

I WROTE a letter to the Times on May 31 last year, criticising Cllr Philip Sanders for describing his legal action to prevent a supermarket occupying the old Focus site as relatively 'cheap and simple'. I assumed that by 'cheap' it would be less than £5,000, and now hear it could be ten times that! I also explained that the true cost of his action was that local people are losing out on job opportunities.

I live in Bere Alston where there are many young unemployed people who have relied on Tavistock for their employment. The town centre chamber of commerce seems not to want any job creation outside their area. I feel that our two ward councillors, who both supported Cllr Sanders, should have been listening to their constituents and not to the chamber, because there are very few jobs in the town centre, so where do they think new jobs are coming from?

It's about time these dinosaurs gave way to progress; charity, coffee and pasty shops are fine but we need more real jobs.

Helen Baker

Bere Alston

IN May last year you published my letter of protest regarding West Devon Borough Council's (WDBC) underwriting of Cillr Philip Sanders' court and other costs in challenging the WDBC policy of giving full retail planning consent for the old Focus DIY site. The challenge has failed with all costs being levied against Cllr Sanders and borne by the ratepayer.

One must remember that the council gave permission for this change of use and then seven months after the date where this decision could be changed by them, some councillors decided to challenge it, using the council leader, Cllr Sanders, as an individual, not as a councillor, to challenge their own decision in court but underwriting this challenge using ratepayers' money from WDBC coffers.

We now know the outcome, the challenge failed with full costs being awarded against Cllr Sanders, therefore, WDBC, ie the rate-payers, pay for their foolishness.

We are told that the WDBC increase in the rates levied of 1.9% is to enable them to maintain existing community and other services, (They fail to state that the increase would not have been necessary, were it not for this legal challenge) in fact, this increase will provide an extra income of £70,000 which will be swallowed up by the court costs for this legal challenge.

I am sure this is all above board and legal and that no councillor has broken the law but it begs the question as to why this challenge was made in the first place.

Let us have another supermarket on the old DIY site and let us encourage more business into the town. The town of Tavistock is not just the high street, it is the whole of the businesses and residences within Tavistock and we should not be favouring one segment to the detriment of others.

If the council really wants to improve the footfall in town, then abolish the parking charges, this will, in one fell swoop, solve the high street footfall problem.

Cllr Brian A A Trew

Tavistock Town Cllr Independent, South Ward

I AM writing to express my frustration with West Devon Borough Council. I understand that they may be forking out to pay for legal fees for their mistake to not allow a supermarket to be built on the Focus site.

It seems to me that if they weren't Nimbys they wouldn't have made this poor decision in the first place.

Sadly the bottom line is it is not the council who will be paying for these legal fees, it is the Tavistock community.

We, at the end of the day, pay our council taxes for services and yet I see they have just hiked up council taxes by 1.9%.  

We need new businesses in Tavistock like a supermarket to create jobs for our local families. It is a shame that we have an incompetent council that thinks otherwise.

Alex Buckenham

Tavistock

via email