Dear Editor,
It has always been so easy to throw stones at authorities for their lack of vision and forethought, but who here are the real villains? We are informed by Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) that they can no longer afford to keep the visitor centre at Princetown open. This centre has been serving around 50,000 visitors each year, catering for their needs and also creating employment opportunities for many local folk. We should also consider all the secondary businesses this visitor centre helped, from cafés and shops to B&Bs and pubs, speciality clothes shops, and not forgetting book and history emporia – the list goes on and on. With the visitor centre’s closure, Princetown is, sadly, very likely to become just another ghost village.
Any sane person must be scratching their head in dismay. How is it possible for something that is so much needed and well used to be deemed financially unsustainable? In fairness, nowhere in any of the articles about DNPA’s decision to close the visitor centre have they been tactless enough to clarify the true cost of the lease from the Duchy. Could this be because the sum is eyewatering?
I imagine most of us have seen the programmes on TV about the staggering amounts the Duchy profits from their holdings, and it should be clear that they have for many years extracted and squeezed every drop of blood from the granite surrounding us, and they certainly have had their pound of flesh from our national parks, so maybe the time has come for them to repay the debt, by passing the building over to the people of Princetown and allowing community spirit and resolve to revitalise their village.
If the Duchy refuses to see the wisdom in this action, then it has to fall on the shoulders of DNPA to find suitable alternatives, and there are buildings that could be renovated and remodelled to have multiple uses which would also serve their needs.
So, DNPA, we need clarification and honesty here: are the figures proposed for renewing the lease ridiculously onerous, or is there some hidden agenda that we the public just can’t see? If you are able to tell us exactly how things stand, I have no doubt the people and businesses of Princetown and those from all around will come forward to help.
Michael Fife Cook
Mary Tavy