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Your questions answered about planning
and tourism in Exmoor National Park
Exmoor National Park Authority is the planning authority for the National Park. Its relationship with Somerset and Devon County Councils and with West Somerset and North Devon District Councils is purely consultative.
Introduction
The primary and overriding objective of the National Park Authority is to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of Exmoor while promoting its quiet enjoyment and supporting the social and economic well-being of the local community. Planning policies as set out in the Exmoor National Park Local Plan (August 1994) aim at achieving a balance between conservation priorities and local development pressures. The guiding principle for all activities that have an effect on the environment is the concept of sustainable development, i.e. development which does not deplete the resource it is using to the extent that it compromises future needs.
Policy CLN1 sums up the attitudes that underlie all planning policies and decisions within Exmoor National Park.
'Development in the National Park will generally only be permitted, if it:
or
and
Planning policies and tourism
Although the number of visitors to Exmoor is low in comparison with some other national parks which lie closer to major urban centres, tourism is nevertheless vital to the local economy and is one of the few growth industries in the area Many visitors take part in informal recreational activities such as walking, picnicking or riding and it is a duty of the NPA to promote such 'quiet enjoyment' of the park while curbing intrusive or over intensive pursuits. Environmentally sustainable tourism is the guiding principle for new tourist proposals, sustainable tourist development being that which is based upon and is sympathetic to the environment and ensures that its special qualities are safe-guarded for future generations.
Chapter 7 of the Local Plan sets out the Park Authority's policies concerning tourism developments in detail.
The main objectives are:
Examples of tourism developments likely to be permitted in the National Park include camping barns and small camp sites for backpackers. Schemes unlikely to be permitted include power boating, golf courses, caravan sites and refreshment facilities in an area where there are already plenty.
Honeypots
Honeypot is the name given to the most popular sites within the National Park, which attract large numbers of visitors, like bees to a honeypot, particularly in the peak season. Honeypots are not usually planned; they just happen Most of the honeypot sites in Exmoor National Park have been popular with visitors for more than 100 years and some for 200. Dunster, the Valley of Rocks and Watersmeet were all on the tourist itinerary by the mid eighteenth century as were Horner Woods, the Doone Valley and Cleeve Abbey not long after. All of these sites boast picturesque scenery or historical features and most were relatively easy to reach. Guidebooks reinforced the attraction of the sites and coaches and later charabancs began to lay on excursions. With the coming of the motor car people began to visit the honeypots individually, demanding somewhere to park and eventually, toilets, refreshments and information.
Retaining the attractive nature of these sites while at the same time accommodating thousands of visitors is the responsibility of Park planners and Park management in conjunction with the owners of the sites. Culbone is so remote that it can in effect be reached only on foot and so has avoided becoming a honeypot. Tarr Steps, on the other hand, approached by narrow roads, has become so overcrowded that special measures have had to be taken to deal with the pressures.
The original car park at Tarr Steps was soon developed to hold the growing number of vehicles. Surrounded by trees planted as landscaping, the car park is the end of the road for many people who choose to sit in their cars there rather than walk down the hill to view Tarr Steps itself. A new footpath has taken walkers off the narrow road into nearby fields making a safer pedestrian route to the Steps. The narrow approach roads have been signed to encourage a one way system.
Although the car parks are often full at peak weekends in summer, it has now been decided not to extend the car park any more. Instead it is hoped that as more people realise how busy the area is likely to be and how unlikely it is that there will be anywhere to park, they will choose to avoid Tarr Steps at peak periods and go there at some other time. Information leaflets, brochures and the Exmoor Visitor, the Exmoor free newspaper, all help to reinforce this idea.
With honeypots creating problems of overcrowding and traffic congestion it might seem unlikely that the NPA would try to create a new one. However that is almost what the Authority is trying to do at Wimbleball This reservoir site covers a large area and offers all sorts of opportunities for walking, fishing and water sports There are car parks, toilets, facilities for children and refreshments. The site can accommodate many more people than visit the area at the moment; the landscape is relatively robust and approach roads, improved originally to carry construction traffic, are able to carry large numbers of vehicles
The NPA tries to draw visitors away from the overcrowded, sensitive sites by careful road signing, by information both printed and given by word of mouth by NPA staff who work with the public and indirectly through tourism brochures and tourist providers.
Redundant rural buildings
It is inevitable that over the years some rural buildings, like chapels and mills, will outlive their usefulness while certain farm buildings may become redundant perhaps because of the shift away from agriculture or because traditional stone barns are no longer large enough to accommodate modern farm machinery. Owners often consider the possibility of converting such buildings to residential use but this is generally not considered to be the best way of using them.
A conversion to residential use usually benefits the economy less than a conversion to a workshop, business or holiday accommodation which all help to bring new money into the area. There are also design limitations when an old building of this sort is converted into a house. The original building was designed for a particular function and the addition of window openings and chimneys can destroy the original simple line and result in unsightly and inappropriate conversion.
The conversion of old farm buildings to camping barns, for example, addresses all these issues. They can be adapted with minimal impact on the look of the building and fulfil a need while at the same time attracting more quiet visitors to Exmoor and providing an income.
Signs and Advertising
Directional road signs are an essential tool in the management of Exmoor National Park. Erected by the Highway Authority, they can be used to direct motor traffic onto sustainable routes and to divert it from the narrow, windy roads which can soon become congested. These signs as well as the brown tourism signs have to comply with national regulations.
While signs are needed to point people in the right direction and attract custom, they can easily become an eyesore and detract from the beauty of the place one has come to visit. A tea shop in one of Exmoor's villages, housed in a beautiful listed building, boasts, during the busiest part of the day, nineteen separate advertising signs. In such a case the NPA only has power to suggest what is appropriate.
Planning permission is needed for advance directional signs and advertisements and details of the NPA's policies are set out in the leaflet, Advance Signs and Advertisements available from Exmoor House
TWO CASE STUDIES
Providing for leisure and tourism are often the reasons underlying some of the larger and more controversial planning applications received by the NPA's planning department. The NPA is dedicated to supporting small-scale and appropriate development for tourism but never at the expense of the landscape. The outline case studies that follow describe two recent applications for developments for leisure and tourism within the Park. More details of the applications and response are available (see resource list).
NB. The planning staff at Exmoor House deal with planning applications, consult, provide all the paper work and advice, but it is the National Park Committee that makes the final decisions.
Golf course, Club House and Car Park at Croscombe Barton, Lynton
An application to build a golf course, club house and car park at Croscombe Barton was made first in 1989 and renewed in 1994. The application was first refused, then approved in 1991 subject to certain strict conditions. It was later turned down by the Secretary of State.
The golf course was proposed for a 135 acre site situated on one of the highest parts of the coastal area of the National Park between Lynton and Heddon Valley. Currently five re-seeded pasture fields, before the second world war two thirds of the site was used as a golf course. The proposed club house was to include a lounge bar/ dining area, kitchen, changing rooms and professional shop with living accommodation for manager above. There was to be a car park for 60 cars while the course was to have 18 holes varying in length between 120m and 500m.
Consultations took place with:
The public
The main considerations were:
Issues considered by the NPA
Recommendation
The NPA committee refused planning permission on the grounds that the proposed golf course and club house would be 'an unacceptable visual intrusion' in the landscape' and that its 'need' was not a sufficient consideration to override the preservation of the landscape.
Woody Bay Station, Martinhoe
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway closed in 1935 and since then the station at Woody Bay, Martinhoe Cross, has been used as a dwelling house. An application was made in 1995 for the reinstatement of Woody Bay Station, the erection of a locomotive shed and other related buildings and the restoration of a short length of railway.
Consultations took place with:
The public
The main considerations were:
Recommendation
The National Park Committee approved the application but imposed several conditions relating mainly to issues of public safety.
Resources available from Exmoor House
Please address requests in the first instance to:
The Education Officer: Exmoor National Park Department Exmoor House, Dulverton TA22 9HL
Resources available from elsewhere
