I AM staggered by the attitude of some local residents to planning applications covered in the Times recently. First we had the story of a local farmer who has applied for planning consent to use a farm building as a rural workshop near Grenofen. Local residents where quoted as saying they feared it would transform the valley and set a precedent for further industrialisation of the area. What they really mean is ?not in my back yard? (NIMBY!). I can?t think of a better use of old farm buildings that have become redundant in this age of struggling farming practices. I know first hand about this. I have been searching for a larger rural workshop in order to employ someone to assist my cabinet making business. However, there is a tremendous shortage of suitable buildings in the local area since they are all being converted for residential use. If the local residents are so worried about urbanisation destroying the natural character of this beautiful area why don?t they demolish their houses, move to Plymouth or Tavistock and return the valley to its natural state. Ah! I see. Their houses don?t spoil the area but converting an old barn to a rural workshop will? Secondly, we had the story of the planning consent for a fish and chip van in Yelverton. Local residents say ?it will reduce the number of car parking spaces available, cause traffic congestion, noise, litter, a nuisance to the users of the church and church hall and will attract undesirable social activity?. On which planet exactly do these residents live? All of the points mentioned are completely false and this has been proved while the fish and chip van has been there for the last few months. It?s another case of NIMBY. I live in Yelverton and I know the roundabout is an extremely busy junction. It won?t attract more traffic; just a convenient place to stop on the way home to pick up dinner. A perfect spot for it. Both of the above cases concern me about the NIMBY attitude of some local residents. Dartmoor National Park is not a theme park like Disneyland. It?s where people live and work. We don?t want an environment of just second homes and holiday cottages. There is a desparate need for rural workshops and people like to eat fish and chips occasionally. So please, before you object to any development please do think of the bigger picture. Edward Hopkins Yelverton