THE Exmoor Society said this week it was "delighted" that the National Trust had won its planning appeal against Exmoor National Park Authority's refusal to allow works to be carried out to conserve the Bronze Age cairns at Dunkery Beacon. The society said it still believed the original decision taken by the authority's planning committee to refuse the application had been "a bad one" which flew in the face of both its planning officers' and archaeologist's advice. The society said "some members" of the planning committee had expressed disappointment that the planning appeal had been successful when they weregiven the verdict at their meeting on Tuesday. The society said this was despite the fact the planning inspector had been confident the conservation techniques being proposed were well proven, supported by English Heritage, would not adversely affect the environment and were in line with the authority's own policies. Rachel Thomas, chairman of the society said: "It is unwise for members to go against all expert advice when dealing with conservation matters and when thorough exploration has been made over a considerable period of time on mitigating any adverse impacts. "It could be argued that the original decision was one of the worst ones made recently by the planning committee and it has proved impossible to defend. "It is pleasing that the inspector has reversed it and enabled the National Trust to undertake the measures required for the protection of this incredibly valuable archaeological site."
