Ideas collected from up to 300 young people following sessions at Tavistock College and Tavistock Youth Cafe were laid out at a recent meeting at the town hall at the beginning of this month, along with answers to a main survey of adults following a public consultation.
The Neighbourhood Plan is led by the town council and aims to give Tavistock more of a say than what is provided by the current borough-wide blueprint for development up to 2034 - The Joint Local Plan.
Vicki Lloyd-Walsh, who runs the Tavistock Youth Cafe, has delved into more detail about some of the central ideas young people have shared about what they would like to see brought to the town, namely: improved sports facilities, high street fashion shops, fast food outlets and stronger transport links.
Vicki said: ‘First and foremost, the Youth Cafe has said they’d really like to see a new concrete skatepark which could be used in all weathers. The current one is solely comprised of metal ramps which are at least 10 to 15 years old, require a lot of maintenance and are not safe when it’s raining. They’d also really like to have a proper basketball court as they now only have a small court with one hoop.’
Teenagers who frequently use this basketball court have recently launched their own separate, online petition for a new basketball court in the Meadows after saying they feel forced off it by others misusing the space to take drugs, smoke and drink alcohol.
Vicki said: ‘The call for a fast food chain such as McDonald’s or KFC has been popular as we don’t have anything like that.’
A fast food chain has not existed in Tavistock since a McDonald’s outlet, formerly situated on Plymouth Road, closed down in December 2006 due to a lack of trade. Since its opening in 1999, the outlet’s existence proved contentious for some local residents, who set up an action group campaigning against the fast food giant, favouring independent shops and businesses and championing locally sourced produce sold at the farmer’s market.
Vicki said: ‘High street fashion shops such as River Island, Zara or H&M would be a welcome addition for the youngsters who have to either shop online or head to Plymouth. Although we have shops like Fatface and Saltrock, these are expensive and they don’t really cater for young fashion, so they’d like to see Tavistock brought up to date in that respect.’
Vicki added: ‘This ties in with a wish to see greater transport links, especially the reintroduction a train line between Tavistock and Plymouth. Increasing the frequency of bus services, especially for those living in the more rural areas outside of the town such as Princetown who use the Youth Cafe, is really important as they seem to have worsened following covid. Members tell me buses won’t run past 6pm or sometimes just don’t even turn up so we’d love to see this improved.’