A BID to revamp a disused pumping house on Dartmoor as a holiday let has been flushed away by Dartmoor planners.

They reckoned reviving the roadside Rendlestone Pumping Station outside Princetown would ruin the tranquility of the remote spot, and refused the scheme, writes Paul James

Applicant Cathy Riley argued that the transformation would add positively to the local scene and save a landmark building.

As it stood, the dilapidated building had a potential to attract criminal activity, she maintained. It was not as remote as officers’ suggested as there were three residents within a half-mile radius.

And she contended that the light pollution fears of the authority were questionable as the location was not a ‘registered dark sky site.’

She pleaded with members of the national park’s development management committee on Friday: ‘If you do refuse this, let us know what we can do with it.’

Officers said such a conversion went against authority policy of forbidding holiday lets in open countryside. The pumping station, they added, was not considered of historic interest.

The local parish council supported the venture because it ensured the ‘well known landmark’ would be preserved and saved from further deterioration.

The committee heard the pre-war bungalow had been boarded up for several years. Its nearest neighbour backed the redevelopment because it would remove an eyesore.

An objector to the enterprise claimed any dwelling at the location would be ‘out of place and anachronistic.’

Officers, in their report recommending refusal, said it was ‘unfortunate’ that the building, originally owned by South West Water (SWW), was marketed for sale by the company without seeking formal advice from the national park.

The report revealed that marketing agents for SWW were made aware that the property was not suitable for ‘any form of residential accommodation’ when it was sold four years ago at auction to the applicant.

A year after the purchase the applicant was offered formal advice that a proposal for a dwelling would be contrary to policy ‘as would the conversion to holiday use.’