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HERALD EXPRESS 11:00 - 08 March 2008
The legal battle to stop Dartington's art college from moving to Cornwall is being offered council cash backing.
Totnes councillors have already offered to back the campaign by coming up with evidence to support the campaigners' judicial review case.Now South Hams councillors have offered to pay for legal help towards winning a judicial review in the first place.
The district council's executive members have said they are prepared to put hundreds of pounds into providing legal help in preparing the Save Dartington College Campaign's legal challenge before a High Court judge next Friday.
Council leader John Tucker explained that the council was responding to an appeal for help from the campaign's Dartington-based barrister Simon Cassell.
He said the campaign had originally asked for legal help from the council's own solicitors but as they are so tied up with their own work the council had decided to pay for outside legal help.
Mr Tucker said it would probably amount to a couple of days' work and cost in the hundreds of pounds rather than thousands.
"This is an issue for the South Hams as well as Totnes," he said. "The community wants to try and save the college by keeping it in Dartington. If we can help in some way then we should."
On Friday the campaign has been given 90 minutes in the High Court to persuade the judge that he should sanction a Judicial Review investigation into how the decision to use public money to fund the 670 student campus merger with University College Falmouth was made.
If a judicial review goes ahead and finds in favour of the campaigners it could eventually scupper the merger plans.
It has been estimated that the college pull out would take a massive £4.5million a year out of the local economy.
The review is aimed at the way the South West of England Regional Development Agency agreed to help fund the controversial merger with £3.5million of UK taxpayers' money.
Totnes town councillors have already agreed to support the legal bid by researching evidence of lack of consultation which could be presented before the court if a review is agreed.
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