I WAS interested to note both the article (page 4) and the letter (page 5) in the Okehampton Times of June 8 from Dennis Wilkinson Ltd. Mr Wilkinson has failed several times to obtain planning permission for a variety of massive and no doubt lucrative schemes for Bretteville Field. In each case the decision of the Dartmoor National Park has been unequivocal and in my view entirely correct. What part of the phrase, ?permission refused? does he not understand ? Mr Wilkinson would like us all to believe that there is local support for his scheme. Does the evidence bear this out? Two care homes have closed in Chagford in the last few years. The ?survey? carried out failed to impress anyone and the ?support? on the DNP website was outweighed 25:1 by objections. Mr Wilkinson obviously has a vision for development in Chagford; He proposes: ?A new car park . . . junction improvements . . . further development . . . new access and major development?. This is the most worrying aspect of Mr Wilkinson?s letter to the newspaper. He appears to believe that large-scale development is both inevitable and desirable on the east side of Chagford. Why I wonder does he take this view? Who exactly would profit from such development? We all know that Chagford has a unique character, something that is hard to define but something that is undisputedly there and has gone from so many Dartmoor towns and villages (Ivybridge, Bovey Tracey). Character that is very hard to find these days but something that could be destroyed very easily and never replaced. Perhaps Mr Wilkinson and his expert consultants should leave it to the residents of Chagford to decide what is best for us. If he is so keen on development then I am sure there are some unspoiled parts of his home county to which he could turn his attention. Richard Penrose 12 Bretteville Close Chagford
