THE press and the public are to hear for the first time councillors' views on the controversial 12-month extension plans for the Spirit of Teignmouth visitor centre on The Den. The plans will be the sole item at a specially convened financial and general purposes meeting of Teignmouth Town Council next Thursday. It will be almost two weeks after the planning sub-committee met in private to make its recommendations as a consultative body. These meetings are not open to the public. Planning committees at every other town and parish throughout the district are open meetings. The finance and general purposes meeting will be held on Thursday, June 22, to avoid clashes with England's World Cup matches. England's next match is Tuesday at 8pm. Planning sub-committee chairman Cllr Sylvia Russell told Tuesday's full council: 'It is the only date that people will be able to make without dividing their loyalties.' The agenda will be circulated at the end of this week. The planning sub-committee's recommendations made at Friday's planning meeting were not available at time of going to press. However, it is understood that the sub-committee recommended a refusal of the extension application, but would support an extension until March under existing planning conditions. Simon Chalk and his company Woodvale Events Ltd would have to pay £2,000 for every month the project runs over the original deadline of June 30 this year. Because Teignmouth Town Council holds its planning meetings as a sub-committee rather than as a committee, it is not statutorily obliged to hold them in public. Neighbouring towns Newton Abbot and Dawlish holds their planning meetings as a committee. Dawlish Council planning committee chairman Cllr Margaret Dickson insists that where there's a will, there's a way. 'The major issue here is that the secrecy of meetings denies true democracy to the public. 'Councillors must be prepared to give the time to listen to a limited number of people from both sides of the debate. If the process is well managed, it proves to be a vital part of the democratic process. Most people are far more interested in planning matters than anything else that happens in their locality.' But Cllr Russell insisted: 'We are not doing anything wrong here. 'I for one would feel inhibited if the press and public were present because sometimes we have very frank discussions about applications. 'I know from experience that things get mis-reported and misconstrued,' she said.
