THE new owner of an Exmoor hotel who promised concessions to the community if planning refusal was overturned got his way on Tuesday.

Exmoor National Park planning committee reversed its own decision to turn down Malcolm Dudley-Williams' application to return the Tarr Steps Hotel to a house.

The refusal, decided in August, was against park officers' advice - as was the approval of planning permission given on Tuesday.

And a report to today's meeting of the park authority's Exmoor Consultative Forum expresses concern at the loss of rural amenities such as post offices, pubs, shops - and hotels.

The forum will be asked to consider whether the existing policies concerning use of properties are strong enough to withstand social change.

In his report, written before Tuesday's meeting, Keith Ross said: "I believe the (planning) committee was right to refuse the Tarr Steps Hotel application."

Mr Ross said the loss of the hotel would mean the loss of a high profile visitor facility and of job opportunities.

"The far reaching consequences of continuing to approve such applications will leave villages without essential services at a time when we should be considering sustainable conditions within our villages.

"There are good examples of businesses thriving on Exmoor but, left to an open market with no controls, we could well see hotels and shops being bought on the basis of a quick profit by a purchaser after change of use or even the current occupant gaining permission and then selling in the residential market.

"There really is a grave risk of losing what for many reasons are essential services in our villages. Is this what we want to see on Exmoor? I think not."

Mr Dudley-Williams lodged an appeal against the planning committee's August decision and a date for a pubic inquiry was set for January 23 and 24, 2001.

He then sent in a fresh application which extended the original one to cover a tied cottage and offered to link it in with the hotel "so no fragmentation could take place on resale".

He also addressed the reasons why the first application had been turned down, disputing the number of job losses, the creation of a new dwelling in the countryside and any loss of national park facilities.

And his letter said: "As you know, we have served notice of appeal following refusal of our previous application. However, we can confirm that if this application is successful the appeal will be withdrawn, thus saving the parties substantial costs in the future."

It also promised to replace the water supply to Hawkridge, keep open public rights of way, allow people to fish in the River Barle and to employ staff such as "a gardener, housekeeper, groom, water bailiff, part-time cleaners etc".

In August, the planning committee took into account the Local Plan, the effect of job losses on the local economy and the loss of visitor accommodation.

The committee had received 25 letters of objection to Mr Dudley-Williams' plans and there was a protest demo outside Exmoor House on the morning of the meeting.

West Somerset District Council had said it would regret the loss of the hotel in terms of tourism and employment opportunities.

Dulverton Town Council supported Withypool and Hawkridge Parish Council which regretted that eight jobs would be lost.

The planning officers' report said the park authority's concern was to safeguard jobs in business rather than tourism, adding: "The loss of a hotel will have some impact upon the economy of the area."

Approval was recommended, however, on the grounds that precedents had been set, Tarr Steps was a former home and drop in visitor numbers would lessen traffic on narrow lanes.

But the committee decided reasons to reject the application outweighed those for its approval.

On Tuesday, therefore, the officers recommended refusal, which would have been consistent with the committee's decision in August.

The Tarr Steps Hotel, home and livelihood of Shaun and Sue Blackmore, was part of an estate owned by the Harrison family until the last in line chose to sell his inheritance.

The hotel's lease was due to expire in March, 2001, but Mr Dudley-Williams is to close it on November 30.

Mr Dudley-Williams, of Blackdown Sporting Estates, in London, claimed the letters objecting to his application had been "solicited by persons as yet unknown".

His letter to the committee, written in the third person, said: "We will not be soliciting letters of support with this application, which we believe is an abuse of the planning system."

This was accompanied by a letter from Knight Frank Hotel Division supporting his claim that hotel occupancy levels had dropped at local and regional level in the past ten years. Planning officer Neil Pope advised the committee that no market analysis had been carried out to substantiate the claim.

Three letters of objection were received by the committee on Tuesday. A contract with Mr Dudley-Williams has forbidden Mr and Mrs Blackmore to "raise or communicate any objection to any application for planning consent relating to the property or any part thereof".