I AM surprised that there has been so little reaction in your pages to the ridiculous proposal by Mid Devon District Council to close its office in Crediton.

This is the Hospital Beds situation all over again, when everyone woke up too late.

Mainly due to the efforts of a number of people in the town, our hospital will become part of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in April next year.

This shows what can be done.

Some years ago, in a national survey, Crediton came fifth as one of the best places to live in the country.

Last year we dropped to seventh, still a very creditable place. For how much longer?

We have now lost three or four banks, our police station, hospital beds, St Lawrence Residential Home plus the Registrar and Planning and Building Control from Mid Devon District Council.

Now we have the absurd decision to close their office here.

What I would like to know is, what considerations were taken into account in making this decision?

Did they realise how isolated we are from Tiverton? Cullompton has bus services to Tiverton, we have none.

Anyone needing to go to Tiverton has to go via Exeter.

Assumptions were made that everyone has a bank account, is on the net and has their own transport.

May I bring to their notice that there are a lot of people in Crediton who have none of these.

We are also the birthplace of St Boniface, the Patron Saint of many parts of Europe.

This brings many people to the town. They would find it very strange that we had no “Town Hall” such as they know it at the centre of the town.

I will now come to the present use of the office.

From time-to-time over the years, I make random visits to the Crediton District Council office and I have seldom been in when there has been nobody being seen.

In the last month I have been twice, once with a query and once to see the Town Clerk.

In the first instance I had to wait for 10 minutes with four others while a member of staff dealt patiently with someone’s problem.

During that time three people came in to pay in money.

On the second visit I went upstairs to see the Town Clerk. When I went upstairs to the Town Clerk’s office, there were four people waiting at the MDDC office and when I came down there were five!

Was this a coincidence or is it a real picture of its use?

Also, what a kick in the face for the staff who have given loyal service for a number of years.

Our councillors do not stand a chance. They are always going to be out-voted by the “big boys”.

While I commend the LibDems for getting up a petition, I feel I must remind them of what happened to the one about the Hospital beds. It sank without trace.

I saw most of the documents produced by the Commissioning Group and it was not mentioned once.

In my opinion we must not only question MDDC into how they came to the decision, but to make suggestions as to how the use of the office could be extended.

The loss of the Police Station front office and the fact that we have no Information Bureau are two uses that immediately come to mind.

Recently I came across a bike that had obviously been stolen and then abandoned. I was at a loss as to whom I could contact.

Fortunately I met a District Councillor who knew the name of a policeman whom she contacted on her iPad.

We have no lost property reporting service, other than that provided by the “Courier”!

I am sure that apart from extra reasons for keeping the office open, some duties could be devolved from the grandiose Phoenix “Palace” at Tiverton (built in the face of opposition in the 1980s), which would not only benefit us, but also cut down on journeys.

We already pay dearly for services we no longer receive but which are enjoyed by Tiverton and Cullompton.

We realise money is tight but I would like to know what savings have been made in the other two towns.

The heart is slowly being ripped out of our town and we have just three-and-a-half months in which to make sure the decision is reversed.

John Higgs

Gordon Terrace

Park Street

Crediton