WEST Somerset residents were among a group of 80 Crown Estate tenants who lobbied councillors at a meeting in Taunton last week. They spoke of their anger and worries at a meeting of Taunton Deane Borough Council's corporate scrutiny committee meeting after being served notice to quit by their landlord. In total, tenants living in 45 Crown Estate properties around Old Cleeve, Dunster and Taunton have been asked to leave after the organisation decided to rationalise its housing stock. Some 17 properties in West Somerset have been earmarked for sale. Tenants have been given up to six months' notice to find alternative accommodation and given first refusal to buy their homes rather than move out. Parish councillors from West Somerset, including Dunster member Graham Lamacraft, spoke out at the meeting in support of the tenants. Scrutiny committee members also threw their weight behind the tenants and resolved to ask the council to write to the Crown Estate, its agents, commissioners, the Treasury, Prime Minister and Queen to ask for the threat of eviction to be lifted. They wanted assurances that only empty homes would be sold and only to local people. "The letter would emphasise that it was not a question of legality but of moral and ethical responsibility to stop the intended evictions that would tear the heart out of local communities in Somerset," a spokesman for the council said. Somerset County County agreed to lobby the Crown Estate last month on behalf of tenants and criticised the organisation for putting profits before people. A spokesman for the Crown Estate said the organisation regularly carried out reviews of its assets in order to get the best returns on its property portfolio. It is one of the largest property businesses in the country - with property worth some £8.1 billion to its name - and manages assets on behalf of the Queen. However, those assets are not owned by the monarch and all profits are paid to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation. Photos: Rebecca Overton