AN old toilet block is to be demolished to make way for the 40th caravan at a residential park in Ashburton.

Dartmoor planners voted in favour of the switch despite Ashburton town councillors objecting to the loss of the redundant unit which had recently been used as an office and venue for social functions.

Councillors reckoned there was no need for a new dwelling at the countryside site of Ashburton Caravan Park at Waterleat.

They added that the majority of nearby residents were against the proposal.

But members of Dartmoor National Park Authority’s development management committee disagreed.

Officers, recommending approval of the replacement, noted the concerns raised by town councillors.

But they did not feel the objections were a ‘material planning consideration.’

‘It is considered that the development will not cause harm to the character and appearance of the national park – and permission can therefore be granted,’ they said in their report before last Friday’s meeting.

Members voted unanimously in favour of the application.