He leased Huccaby House, on the West Dart River, near Hexworthy, from the Duchy of Cornwall and Sayer used to visit as a child. Her mother was Olive Louise Munday (born Burnard; 1873–1960), Robert Burnard's eldest daughter.
She was chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association from 1951 to 1973, and remained deeply involved with the organisation until her death. ==Biography== Sayer's grandfather was Robert Burnard (1848–1920), who with Sabine Baring-Gould performed the first scientific excavations of ancient monuments on Dartmoor, including Grimspound; and who was one of the founding members in 1883 of the Dartmoor Preservation Association.
Sylvia Olive Pleadwell Sayer, Lady Sayer (6 March 1904 – 4 January 2000), was a passionate conservationist and environmental campaigner on behalf of Dartmoor, an area of mostly granite moorland in Devon in the south-west of England.
In 1925 she married Guy Sayer, who was a midshipman in the Royal Navy, and they spent some time in China.
They had twin sons, Geoffrey and Oliver, born in 1930, and until World War Two the family travelled widely to meet the needs of Guy's navy career.
In her first published letter to The Times, in 1948, she expressed concerns about local authorities (specifically Devon County Council) seeking to subvert the implementation of Arthur Hobhouse's recommendations for the creation of national parks by demanding that they retain their own planning powers.
She urged that control of the soon-to-be-formed National Parks should be at the highest possible level within the Government so there would be a chance of exercising control over the Duchy and other Government departments. The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 created the National Parks Commission whose first chairman was Sir Patrick Duff.
Ten National Parks were created in the 1950s under this Act – Dartmoor National Park was the fourth to be created, in October 1951.
She was chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association from 1951 to 1973, and remained deeply involved with the organisation until her death. ==Biography== Sayer's grandfather was Robert Burnard (1848–1920), who with Sabine Baring-Gould performed the first scientific excavations of ancient monuments on Dartmoor, including Grimspound; and who was one of the founding members in 1883 of the Dartmoor Preservation Association.
She was chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association between 1951 and 1973, and after that, as its patron, she continued to attend virtually every meeting of its executive committee until 1999. She lived at Cator almost until her death, moving to a nursing home in Chagford two weeks before.
Ten National Parks were created in the 1950s under this Act – Dartmoor National Park was the fourth to be created, in October 1951.
They had permission dating from 1951 to expand their pits and tips.
When the Dartmoor Standing Committee voted in June 1952 to approve the application, Sayer complained that it had relied on the casting vote of the chairman in the absence of three members who would have voted against. Continued objection from Sayer and the DPA, and the CPRE, led to a public enquiry which took place in September 1953.
When the Dartmoor Standing Committee voted in June 1952 to approve the application, Sayer complained that it had relied on the casting vote of the chairman in the absence of three members who would have voted against. Continued objection from Sayer and the DPA, and the CPRE, led to a public enquiry which took place in September 1953.
Although congratulatory letters were passed between all the main objectors after the enquiry, the ministry granted the planning application in January 1954, though with some minor provisos to minimise the impact.
Sayer was a member of the committee from its formation, but she resigned in 1957 in protest at its failure to protect the moor as she would wish. ===TV mast=== As chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA), Sayer was heavily involved in all that organisation's fights for what it saw as conservation issues.
After VE Day, Guy was posted to the Far East and Sylvia settled at Cator and became interested in local politics, at first as a parish councillor for Widecombe, then as a Rural District Councillor and a member of the Dartmoor Sub-Committee of Devon County Council. Lady Sayer acquired her title in 1959 when her husband was knighted on his retirement as the vice-admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet.
After the decision had been made, Sayer wrote a letter to Peter Bottomley, the then Minister of Transport that included the following extract: ===Other=== She opposed proposals to build a new Dartmoor Prison at Princetown in the centre of the moor in 1959.
In the 1960s she complained about off-road car parking, and the poor treatment of Dartmoor ponies by those who only keep them for the subsidies they can obtain. In 1983 she refused an invitation from the Prince of Wales to attend the launch of the Duchy of Cornwall's management plan for Dartmoor, since it allowed for a continuance of military usage.
In February 1967 she disrupted a large-scale mock battle at Ringmoor Down that involved low-flying helicopters.
The proposal was eventually rejected in December 1970 at the Bill's committee stage, and a reservoir known as Roadford Lake was built west of the moor near the village of Broadwoodwidger instead. However, the other reservoir at Meldon on the north west edge of the moor was passed, despite claims that the water would be poisoned by arsenic and lead because of the presence of three disused metalliferous mines and their spoil heaps in the area to be flooded.
The dam was built in 1972, and in that year Sayer wrote a 62-page booklet entitled The Meldon Story that was published by the DPA.
She was chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association from 1951 to 1973, and remained deeply involved with the organisation until her death. ==Biography== Sayer's grandfather was Robert Burnard (1848–1920), who with Sabine Baring-Gould performed the first scientific excavations of ancient monuments on Dartmoor, including Grimspound; and who was one of the founding members in 1883 of the Dartmoor Preservation Association.
She was chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association between 1951 and 1973, and after that, as its patron, she continued to attend virtually every meeting of its executive committee until 1999. She lived at Cator almost until her death, moving to a nursing home in Chagford two weeks before.
However, the licences were renewed that year until 2011. ==Legacy== The DPA set up a Lady Sayer Land Purchase Fund after her retirement as chairman in 1973.
In June 1978, the two companies agreed to share their waste tips, as Sayer had recommended, saving Shaugh Moor. ===Okehampton bypass=== In the early 1980s there were plans to create a bypass for the A30 road around the town of Okehampton on the northern edge of Dartmoor.
In June 1978, the two companies agreed to share their waste tips, as Sayer had recommended, saving Shaugh Moor. ===Okehampton bypass=== In the early 1980s there were plans to create a bypass for the A30 road around the town of Okehampton on the northern edge of Dartmoor.
After a public enquiry was held in 1980 arguments continued for over five years with Sayer vigorously opposing the route through the moor.
In the 1960s she complained about off-road car parking, and the poor treatment of Dartmoor ponies by those who only keep them for the subsidies they can obtain. In 1983 she refused an invitation from the Prince of Wales to attend the launch of the Duchy of Cornwall's management plan for Dartmoor, since it allowed for a continuance of military usage.
It was used in 1984 to purchase 32 acres of land at Sharpitor, near Burrator Reservoir, in celebration of the successful fight against the Swincombe reservoir.
The matter was finally settled when the southern route was approved in December 1985 by the House of Lords.
She was also one of a deputation who met the Prince in 1990 to explain to him why they thought he should not renew the military licences for a further term.
She was chairman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association between 1951 and 1973, and after that, as its patron, she continued to attend virtually every meeting of its executive committee until 1999. She lived at Cator almost until her death, moving to a nursing home in Chagford two weeks before.
Sylvia Olive Pleadwell Sayer, Lady Sayer (6 March 1904 – 4 January 2000), was a passionate conservationist and environmental campaigner on behalf of Dartmoor, an area of mostly granite moorland in Devon in the south-west of England.
On 10 February 2000 a service of celebration for her life was held in the parish church of Widecombe-in-the-Moor.
However, the licences were renewed that year until 2011. ==Legacy== The DPA set up a Lady Sayer Land Purchase Fund after her retirement as chairman in 1973.
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