YOUNG people in West Devon feel left out of the decision-making processes in the borough, it was announced in a report published last week.

The report was produced by environmental charity WestDEN as part of its indicators project, which reveals how life is changing in West Devon.

Jane Savage, indicators project manager, said one aspect WestDEN has focussed on is young people and how involved they feel within the local democratic process.

'Over the last four years, it would appear that the young are becoming increasingly disaffected with local democracy,' she said.

But Mrs Savage said there are now a growing number of groups which are building links between young people and those able to respond to their needs — for example, Tavistock and District Youth Council, which gives a voice to youngsters between the ages of 13 and 20 years.

The report looked at a wide range of issues — for example, it has found that traffic and air pollution locally is increasing, while numbers of skylarks and certain butterflies are on the decrease.

On a positive note, the quality of life report found that an increasing number of shops in the area are selling locally produced food.

Jane said: 'Recording and highlighting changes over a wide range of subjects, spanning class size to woodland cover, and rainfall to renewable energy, enables us to judge whether our quality of life in West Devon is improving or getting worse.'

Zoe Viggers, vice-chair of Tavistock and District Youth Council, said: 'We welcome this report as it draws attention to youth issues.

'At the moment, the council is looking at the possibility of an appraisal to find out the needs of young people.

'We will then be able to pass this information Tavistock and District Youth Forum, to see what can be done.'

And Zoe said the council would also like to recruit new members to strengthen its voice locally. Anyone interested should call the youth office at Tavistock College on 01822 613522 for further information.

The indicators report will be produced next year and is likely to be affected by this year's foot and mouth crisis. To order a copy of the report, call WestDEN on 01822 611487.