HC Deb 23 November 1987 vol 123 cc35-6W
Miss Emma Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about his proposals for the replacement of Willsworthy camp, Dartmoor.

Mr. Freeman

The Ministry of Defence proposals to replace Willsworthy camp on land recently acquired at Higher Beardon farm, Lydford, were submitted to the Dartmoor National Park Authority on 19 October, and we are following normal planning procedures.

The proposals do not affect one way or the other the general question of military, including live firing, use of Dartmoor for which essential requirement a need will remain.

The Willsworthy ranges are a vital part of the Dartmoor training area where the Army has been training since the last century. Willsworthy was purchased for military use nearly 90 years ago. The ranges were recently modernised, although this decision was taken only after it had been established that it would not be practicable to move them outside the national park. A camp will continue to be needed in the Willsworthy area to provide temporary shelter throughout the year, not a barracks as some reports have suggested, for the many soldiers, including service women, young cadets and those in the TA, using the Willsworthy, Okehampton and Merrivale ranges. Okehampton training camp could not be used for this purpose mainly because it is too far away to provide ready access to shelter from the harsh and rapidly changing weather conditions on the moor.

The reason for seeking to relocate at Higher Beardon is that the present camp is old and poorly constructed and the facilities it provides are wholly inadequate. It is, moreover, an eyesore. If agreement is not forthcoming for Higher Beardon, the camp will remain at the present site.

While Willsworthy camp is well located for military purposes, we believe it would be in the best interests of the national park to move the camp to a less conspicuous position off the high moor so that the existing site can be cleared and returned to open moorland. The new camp, which would cover a much smaller area than the present one, would comprise a single storey building, to provide basic facilities only, constructed in local stone and slate to be in sympathy with its surroundings. It would also be set in a natural hollow substantially hidden from view. The Dartmoor National Park Authority would, of course, be consulted on the detailed design aspects.

The planning procedures allow for our proposals to be considered at a non-statutory public local inquiry if necessary and if my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment so determines.