I ATTENDED the exhibition at North Tawton Town Hall on Saturday.

In common with other townspeople attending I have a number of points of concern about the proposal — too many to deal with in a letter. However, my main concerns are:

l Is this the right place for a residential development? It backs on to Gregory's yard, is close to the cheese factory and seems to be more appropriate for light industrial/commercial use, especially when we are trying to maximise employment potential in the area. If, as I was told, the area is marked for housing on the West Devon plan, perhaps it is time we revised the plan!

l The (so called) community facility on the development is the provision of an empty shell which will then have to be fitted out at someone else's expense — and guess who would pick up the bill!

l There has been no apparent appreciation of the effect that a development increasing the town's population by upwards of 10% will have on the infrastructure in the town — school, traffic patterns (the 'improved access' is moving the entrance to Mill Road some ten yards closer to the town) and other factors. The potential effect of the development on Taw Bridge could be close to catastrophic.

l The design of the properties seems to be more in accord with city development than a small rural town.

I support the development of the site, and in trying to retain much of its essential character, but this proposal seems to me to be ill conceieved and lacking in understanding of the status and needs of the town and area.

John Lucas

Gowmans Terrace

North Tawton