Okehampton Town Council has asked for permission to prune the silver birch tree on George St in preparation for new CCTV cameras.

The council has argued that the work is necessary to improve the line-of-sight of the new cameras, which is currently obstructed by the tree, and make the public toilet sign more visible to passersby.

This follows observations by some residents that the sign is currently hidden by the tree, meaning that many visitors are unaware of the toilets.

Some have said that this is increasingly problematic as visitors to the town increase following the reopening of the station last November.