A RIDING school training area has been granted planning permission as an addition to a Tavistock stables.

Harford Stables north of Tavistock near Harford Bridge, has been given the go-ahead for the sand school, for personal use only, by Dartmoor National Park Planning Authority (DNPA).

Approval is subject to the sand school being used for private equestrian purposes only and should not be used for livery, commercial riding lessons, commercial equine breeding or commercial equestrian use of any kind.

The land already has an established equestrian use with several buildings used for keeping horses.

The land proposed for the school is now used for storage, is fenced and bordered by two abandoned railway lines and has ‘valued’ industrial archaeology and historic stone bridges and trees and a fast-flowing river.

Planners considered the use of the 746-square-metre school would have minimal impact on the ‘tranquil and high-scenic’ value of the landscape and was also hidden from public view.

Planners also said the area should include biodiversity enhancement measures which the stables have already offered and includes the enclosure of the wetland area, which should be maintained for the long term.

Before the school was brought into use the owners should draw up a landscape and environmental management plan to be formally approved by the DNPA, stated the planners.

This plan should include details and timings for habitat creation, species specification and management, and hedgerow planting and aftercare.

The biodiversity measures are planned to be native hedgerows with bird boxes and bat boxes added to the existing stables, hay store and house.