A bespoke home for owls, bats, sparrows and various insects and amphibians is being planned for a patch of Barn Owl Heaven in Ashburton.

If approved, the detached stone structure standing 4.5m – nearly 15 feet – high will be built by the Barn Own Trust at its Waterleat site.

The application for the wildlife tower is being considered by Dartmoor National Park Authority.

The trust's senior conservation officer, David Ramsden, said that unlike wooden bird boxes which typically last ten years, the stone structure would last 100 years or more.

'It is really good to take a long term view of animal conservation. It is virtually maintenance free. Once it is there, it is likely to be there for generations,' he said.

In recent years barn owl numbers have dropped alarmingly. A survey carried out in the 1990s estimated that there are only 400 pairs left in the UK. Devon is home to 40 pairs but Teignbridge is reckoned to have only ten.

As well as loss of foraging areas, their traditional breeding sites – old farm buildings and hollow tree trunks – are also disappearing.

The Barn Owl Trust is doing its bit to boost numbers through its Lennon Legacy Project. An unexpected legacy enabled it to buy 26 acres of sheep pasture which it aims to turn into a perfect habitat for the creatures.

Last year two pairs of barn owls and a pair of kestrels nested within 300 yards of each other and it is hoped the wildlife tower would boost numbers still further.

The structure has been designed to cater for a whole host of animals as well as owls, with kestrels in the west wing, bats on the north face and holes for warmth-loving insects on the southern side.

It would be the second in Teignbridge. The first, outside Newton Abbot, was built in 2006 for the TV series Wild Thing I Love You made by RDF Media for Channel 4.

The trust was cock-a-hoop at how quickly wildlife moved in. Seven weeks after completion the tower had been colonised by a little owl and hibernating butterflies.

Barely a year later a pair of wild barn owls had moved in and there were signs that it was also being used by kestrels, lacewings and bats.

Mr Ramsden said he can see the idea of providing permanent wildlife roosts catching on.

He said: 'We've had about ten inquiries from different parts of the country, often developers seeking to mitigate loss of old buildings in developments.'

If the plan does go ahead, he said it will also be a fitting memorial to amateur film-maker John Woodland, a great friend of the Barn Owl Trust and a regional representative for the British Trust for Ornithology.