This letter is intended to alert not only those immediately affected but the whole of West Somerset’s populace that this idyllic part of our country is under immediate threat from speculative developers.

The latest proposed incursion is to purchase land abutting Exmoor National Park and Pennyhill Farm on the back lane to Dunster.

This land hosts a plethora of wildlife, with deer roaming the hillside, a sight of great delight to residents and visitors alike.

The modus operandi of such developers is to survey an area and select what they see as profitable sites on which to build.

These sites are the property of landowners who are then presented with the opportunity to make millions from the sale of their land.

It is reprehensible that some such landowners are willing to acquiesce to these proposals, the lure of easy money taking precedence over the preservation of our unique and precious environment.

In this selfish and self-seeking age, where the god Mammon rules,it is left to us who love and respect our beautiful countryside to fight tooth and nail to protect it and our cherished way of life.

It is delusional to imagine this scenario will never happen – it already is in many areas throughout the UK.

The time for complacency is over. Developers depend on local apathy which has, both in the past and present, been a strong weapon in enabling them to secure planning permissions with, regrettably, little or no opposition whatsoever.

If you want further congestion on our roads, our overstretched health service and doctors’ surgeries threatened even further, our schools seriously overcrowded, then go back to sleep, close you eyes to reality and then wake up – too late – to find your comfortable life irrevocably destroyed.

Thelma Frost, West Somerset Watchdogs.