COUNCILLORS have voted to close a face-to-face outreach service for people in the Okehampton area to access West Devon Borough Council services — despite opposition from the town’s own borough representatives.

The borough council hub committee voted on Tuesday (July 16) by five to four to withdraw the one day a week service at the Ockment Centre in Okehampton. The service, originally two days a week, was reduced to just Wednesdays at the start of April.

It replaced the permanent office WDBC had in the town in St James Street which closed in January 2018.

Okehampton North ward member Tony Leech urged councillors to delay shutting the service while a review of all WDBC’s customer services across the borough was conducted.

Cllr Leech said:‘I think we should look holistically at the whole system before closing the Okehampton service completely.

‘When the office closed, we were promised a service in Okehampton. We were stopped from advertising the service and — I know the press are here but I’ll say this anyway — I think it was set up to fail.’

He added: ‘Okehampton has lost so many services that the list has almost grown daily. It is almost becoming that if you remove this service, it will fortify the historic thoughts that if you want anything, you have to live in the south of the borough or in Tavistock.’

Okehampton’s town councillors have opposed the withdrawal of the service, saying WDBC should keep a presence in what is the second largest town in the borough.

Pick up today’s copy of the Okehampton Times to read the full story.