OKEHAMPTON'S former mayor has provided an update on the united stance the mayors of West Devon took against the proposed development in the region. Cllr Tony Leech, Okehampton's mayor last year, joined forces with the then mayors of Hatherleigh and Tavistock to write a letter to all MPs and mayors in Devon, the South West Regional Assembly and the Government. The letter outlined the mayors' concerns about 'urban development' in rural areas as well as the inadequacies of the current infrastructure to cope with such a development. Cllr Leech told the Times: 'We have received a number of verbal replies as well as letters from the local parishes giving their backing to our concerns. 'We have also had a letter from the SWRA stating that there will be another round of consultations and that we should continue to be involved in the process. 'We have also received a reply from Gordon Brown's office. I assume it was a "round robin" but it basically said Mr Brown was very glad we had taken the time to write and that our views would be taken into consideration. 'It is clear that the larger builders have actually stopped building at the moment due to the credit squeeze but we are looking at the long term plans for the town and we should not be complacent when we have a chance to make our views known. 'The credit squeeze will not last for ever.' The new mayors of the three towns have agreed to carry on where the previous mayors left off by continuing to insist that planning rules for rural communities should not be based on urban models.