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. Two alternative routes were proposed: a northern one through agricultural land, or a southern one which would encroach on the National Park. After a public enquiry was held in 1980 arguments continued for over five years with Sayer vigorously opposing the route through the moor. The matter was finally settled when the southern route was approved in December 1985 by the House of Lords.Kelly (2015), pp.10–16. After the decision had been made, Sayer wrote a letter to Peter Bottomley, the then Minister of Transport that included the following extract:DPA News (2000), p.23.
