Except for Tavistock itself, the area is rural in nature and some parts are quite remote with significant tracts inside Dartmoor National Park and the Tamar Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The quality of scenery is highly prized together with its accompanying tranquillity and gentle pace of life. Within the landscape is a rich diversity of habitats, some of national or international importance, so the impact of human activity demands constant careful appraisal.

Tavistock and most of the villages have historic cores which are locally distinctive and complement the natural environment. Some recent developments have successfully continued this tradition but, in too many cases, layouts and architecture have been utilitarian and not made a positive contribution to quality of life. As a result, there now needs to be a renewed emphasis on achieving good design in the built environment and seeking opportunities to correct the worst mistakes of the past. There is also a need for help with maintaining historic sites and buildings as close as possible to their original form.

With very high house prices compared to local incomes, more needs to be done to provide local people with options for affordable housing and to furnish the necessary service infrastructure and community facilities for all residents. Consultation exercises have consistently raised affordable housing as being the single most pressing issue for communities in the area.

Present day living patterns create large amounts of waste of all kinds. Whilst some is reused or recycled, there is plenty of scope to live more lightly for the benefit of the environment. An aspiration is to have no need for landfill sites during the timeframe of this plan.

Against this background, the Tavistock and Villages Initiative will work to:

Strategic aims	Supporting Projects	Health Check references
Provide more affordable homes	Monksmead affordable homes	Accuracy of housing needs survey Affordability of local housing Opportunities to bring housing in Tavistock centre back into use Adequacy of planned provision of affordable housing
Conserve and enhance the natural environment	Tavistock tree strategy	Character of local countryside Quality of landscape Importance of countryside for nature conservation Participation of community groups in managing the countryside Natural or man-made links between town and country
Achieve better urban design in towns and villages	Tavistock tree strategy Monksmead affordable homes Abbey Place lighting Town Signage	Unattractive areas or buildings Condition of buildings and street furniture Condition of ‘main gateways’ to the town Overuse of signing, advertising, street furniture etc. Importance of trees in the townscape Plans for change at the edge of town Distinctive design elements found in settlements & surrounding country Impact of town on surrounding countryside
Improve infrastructure and facilities	Bus shelters	Unattractive areas or buildings Condition of buildings and street furniture Plans for change at the edge of town New housing being planned
Maintain historic buildings and sites	Tavistock heritage buildings	Buildings that give town a distinctive character Current townscape or heritage initiatives Areas of historic importance
Restore and reuse vacant buildings	Princetown corner site Prison museum Lopwell pumping station	Condition of housing stock Opportunities to bring housing in Tavistock town centre back into use
Reduce waste and energy consumption	Materials reprocessing Local food supply	Participation of community groups in managing the countryside