NPA must conserve our National Park

A PLANNING proposal on Dartmoor has attracted over 170 letters of objection in a few days. It is also opposed by the Parish Council and the national charity, Butterfly Conservation. The application is for a 66ft high telecommunications mast for the Home Office to improve coverage for emergency services on roads in the Poundsgate area. The site is a few yards from public access land on Newbridge Hill, part of Spitchwick common and a notable beauty spot with spectacular views over the unspoilt Dart valley. The mast and its antennae will be visible from sections of Dr Blackall’s Drive, part of the Two Moors Way. One of Dartmoor’s beauty spots much enjoyed by thousands of visitors is at risk of being permanently disfigured.

It is also proposed to destroy 24ft, of historic boundary wall to install double 10ft gates into what will be a small industrial base station. Not only is the destruction of such an extent of Dartmoor’s natural capital unacceptable, it is also totally unnecessary as there is an existing gateway into the site. Despite the relevant planning protocol making it clear that local residents and communities should be fully consulted, I regret to say that local people have been kept in the dark.

Nobody wants to hinder the work of the emergency services but locals are sceptical about the need for this infrastructure on Dartmoor. It appears to be a gold-plated Whitehall project upgrading the earlier Airwave/Tetra programme from a few years ago at a combined cost of some billions of taxpayers’ money. In a statement to BBC Radio Devon on 6 March, the Home Office confirmed that the building of the masts is subject to local planning authorities granting permission. Members of the National Park Authority must abide by their primary statutory purpose which is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of Dartmoor. If a local resident, farmer or businessman had proposed something similar in such a sensitive location it would have been hit for six, and rightly so. In this, as in other cases, we call for the consistent application of the Park’s planning policies.

Norman Cowling, Chair, Dartmoor Preservation

Association