There is a whispered debate among some of the Dartmoor inhabitants which ponders on who the national park is for – those who live and work on it, or those who want to look at it. The attitude towards the Steward Community Woodland, near Moretonhampstead, might be part of that debate, or it might be because no-one likes a self-sustaining community which lives in recycled houses, generates its own electricity and takes a strong stance on eduction.
The community, which manages the woodland, ran out of temporary planning permission for the site in September 2007, and Dartmoor National Park refused to renew it. But that decision has been overturned by a planning inspector.
Community member Melanie Davis told thisisexeter: “We’re a good example of how people can lead a low-impact lifestyle – not just people who want to live an alternative lifestyle like us, but we can show people steps they can take back with them to their normal, everyday lives.”
Chris France, director of planning at Dartmoor National Park, didn’t seem so happy.
“We feel it’s the wrong decision — I can’t understand the reasons for this decision,” he told the site. Apparently, he ‘did not feel the community had justified its reasons for needing to live in the open countryside of Dartmoor’.
And now the national park authority will decide whether to appeal to the high court or launch a judicial review.
posted by Cptn
• Can you justify living in a self-sustainable community on Dartmoor? Comments below, please
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