THE ISSUE of building more homes within national parks such as Dartmoor was a hotly debated issue in the House of Commons on February 25.

As demand for new homes continues to exceed supply, the Government is eager to encourage more house-building across the country. One option being considered is to make it easier to turn agricultural buildings, such as disused barns, into residential properties through an extension of new permitted development rights to national parks.

This would result in more individual properties being built over a wide area rather than in one particular location, but with several thousand such potential new dwellings across the 368 square mile park, the option has attracted concern.

Several Devon MPs weighed into the debate including Central Devon MP Mel Stride.

Mr Stride spoke out strongly against any 'blanket arrangement that would allow every application to convert a barn into a residential dwelling' and argued planning applications should continue to be looked at individually on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Stride said: 'I fully understand and support the Government's overall goal of building more houses but national parks such as Dartmoor are by definition areas of outstanding beauty and should not be put at risk by this kind of potential blanket relaxation in the planning laws.

'That said we cannot have parks set in aspic so one approach that might work would be to change planning guidance for national parks to encourage a more positive approach to bringing an appropriate and manageable number of derelict buildings back into residential use, with each case being considered on its individual merits.'

County councillor for Okehampton Rural Division Kevin Ball sits on the Dartmoor National Park Authority.

He said: 'Mel was absolutely right to oppose new measures that would result in inappropriate house building within Dartmoor.

'All planning decisions must be made locally by the park authority, which is in the best position to understand the impact that developments can have on our countryside.

'Dartmoor properties also tend to be expensive so won't be much help to young families wanting to get on the housing ladder, which should be one of the key aims of any new developments, regardless of their scale.'