THE community behind the Steward Wood low impact living project has launched a legal challenge following the decision to dismiss its appeal against the refusal of permanent planning permission for dwellings on the land.

An independent planning inspector, appointed by the Secretary of the State, dismissed the appeal by Affinity Workers Co-operative against the refusal of planning permission for permanent residential use of land at Steward Community Woodland, Moretonhampstead last month. The co-operative has now asked for a judicial review into the decision.

A spokesperson for the community group said: ‘Following the refusal last month of our appeal for permanent planning permission for this educational project in low impact living, we have launched a legal challenge to the decision in the High Court by way of judicial review.

‘The planning inspector ruled that the low impact dwellings and way of life damage the character and appearance of the national park. Our case to the High Court is that the planning inspector wrongly interpreted the policies of the Dartmoor National Park Authority. Our solicitors have told us that there is potential for overturning the decision. We feel that this is important, not only for ourselves and the project here, but also because the decision sets a really bad precedent for low impact developments generally.’

The co-operative said that the first stage would be applying for leave to appeal to the High Court. This is normally done in writing without a hearing. A judge will assess whether it has a viable argument. The co-operative said that if it failed at this stage, it would know that this avenue was a ‘dead end’ and would put its efforts elsewhere, but if it won, it could then go to a full hearing.

The spokesperson added: ‘The enforcement notices issued by the DNPA require us to dismantle our homes, our lives and this project by August 2017 with the ultimate threat of fines and imprisonment if we stay.

‘After the initial shock and disbelief, we feel greatly heartened by the messages of support we have received from all quarters. We value our community, our connection to this land and the wider community even more and are drawing strength from that. We feel determined not to allow all that we have built up over 16 years to be wrecked by the short sightedness of the DNPA and the planning inspector.’

The group has a petition running urging the DNPA to continue to allow them to live there and manage the project, which has over 4,000 signatures. It is also planning a march to the DNPA’s headquarters along the route of the Wray Valley Trail to deliver the petition in April 2017.