THE headline proposals for re-working of Tavistock's town centre (Times, December 19) are welcome insofar as they seek to reinvigorate the Guildhall and other historic buildings. I was disappointed, however, to discover, as I delved into the 238 pages of supporting documentation, to see that some old schemes that I thought we had disposed of some years ago have been recycled.

The last page of http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7218&p=0">http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7218&p=0 — a 'Strategy Briefing' (not so brief at 89 pages) — depicts the West Street/Market Street junction, heavily 'Photoshopped' to show a re-hash of the pedestrianisation proposal that, in the late 1980s, was demonstrated by the town council to be impractical.

It appears that someone at the county council (which had then reluctantly accepted that it was impractical) has kept it in a drawer ever since, waiting for an opportunity to dust it off and try again.

Another recycled county ambition is found at page 22 of http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7215&p=0">http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7215&p=0 — a 68-page management plan — namely 'Developing a Pay and Display car parking scheme in the town centre linked to a residents' parking scheme'. I have castigated this mean-spirited attempt by the county council to put its sticky fingers into motorists' purses often enough before. We last saw this scheme off in 2011, but they still don't get it!

In the same document, at page 23, the following sentence has been deleted: 'the town council opposes any reduction of car parking in Guildhall Square, due to a potential loss in income of around £15,000 per year, and some residents are also concerned, particularly the disabled and elderly, who use this facility frequently'.

I find the deletion astonishing. I agree that the layout of the Guildhall car park is pretty abysmal and have some sympathy with the letter from Alex Mettler and Gerry Woodcock (Times, December 19), arguing for relocation of the war memorial to a more dignified setting, but Tavistock needs more, not fewer, places for its increasingly geriatric population to rest their weary wheels.

The last in the trilogy of background documents is http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7216&p=0">http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7216&p=0 — a character appraisal of 81 pages. This makes frequent references, on pages 36, 44, 48, 51, 65, 66, 69 and 72, to 'Local Listing'.

To me, this signals an ambition on the part of the borough planners to engage in 'mission creep'. Space does not permit me to dilate on the implications of local listing, but owners of unlisted buildings built prior to 1950 should read the full texts, and consider the implications of local listing on their future freedom to adapt their own properties to suit changing needs. More detail about local listing may be found at pages 28, 32, 33, 34, 43, 54, 58, 59 and 63 of the management plan hereinbefore cited.

While a comprehensive approach to Tavistock's heritage is welcome, it behoves us to discriminate between worthwhile initiatives to maintain the structures and settings of important public heritage buildings and the recycling of tired old concepts of demand management that threaten both our commerce and our freedoms.

Roger W Mathew

Down Road

Tavistock