I HAVE lived in West Devon for over 12 years and have become accustomed to the beautiful and peaceful countryside offered by the National Park and its surroundings.

My family and I feel very strongly against South West Water's attempts to develop Burrator reservoir, simply for their own profitability and to meet the demands of their shareholders.

Many local residents, people from Plymouth, and visitors to the area enjoy the freedom of what is already there. The proposals include demolishing a discrete corrugated iron shed, which was at one stage to become a listed building and converting Burrator Lodge into a full refreshment area, with a new toilet block. An attractive area of forest surrounding the lodge and the shed will have to be demolished to make way for a new car park, when there is very rarely any parking problem at all along the road.

These proposals are just some of those proposed three years ago, when South West Water wanted to commercialise the entire area. Refreshments are currently available from ice-cream vans, which no doubt will be made redundant under the new deal, and there is already a toilet block standing.

Three years ago, under the old proposals, representatives supporting the development were overwhelmed by the attitudes of local residents when a meeting was held in the Meavy Village Hall, which was not in favour of development.

The representatives chose not to turn up to the Meavy Village Hall last month, as they probably predicted that the reaction to the new proposals would be much the same. They were right. About 150 local residents voted against these new proposals, while only a few voted in favour. So far, the developers have showed no sign of acknowledging the attitudes of the residents.

Peter Gibbings from Walkhampton made a very important observation when he wrote on December 30 that this would heavily increase traffic on the narrow and dangerous stretch of the B3213 road between Woodman's Corner and Dousland, where there have already been two deaths in recent years.

R T Orchard

Midella Road

Yelverton

MAY I congratulate both R L Kane and Peter Gibbings on their letters, December 30, which portrayed so adequately the sad happenings at Meavy Hall over the Burrator Reservoir planning application.

Nobody in the parish could believe that the planning committee, led by chairman Mrs E Hopson, could possibly vote in favour of the application having listened half an hour before to its total rejection by 152 residents. As we believe in democracy, has the time come for some of this committee to resign?

Interestingly, it is said that two of the councillors voting with their chairman had been co-opted onto the council only a few months earlier and appointed onto the planning committee. They are not even residents of our parish. (This is within the rules).

May I ask readers to write to Dr Nick Atkinson at Dartmoor National Park Authority, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9JQ objecting to the application.

The planning application comes before the full council on Thursday January 27 at Walkhampton Parish Hall, 7.30pm. Please try to attend.

G Ledger

Friends of Burrator

Action to protect Dartmoor

Moor Wings

Burrator Road

Dousland