THE charity which works to protect Devon’s countryside says it is bitterly disappointed that Devon County Council has approved a scheme to turn farmland in protected countryside near Exeter into an industrial-scale landfill site, despite widespread opposition and more than 500 objections.

The scheme - initially proposed two years ago - would result in inert soils and topsoil being imported on to land at Lower Hare Farm in Whitestone which has been previously disturbed and left incapable of sustaining commercial agriculture.

On December 2, a representative of Devon CPRE addressed a virtual meeting of the County Council’s development management committee at the request of local residents and opposition groups.

Devon CPRE’s Penny Mills pleaded with councillors not to give the go ahead to a "massive commercial proposal in open countryside".

Addressing the meeting, she said: “This has been an incredibly controversial application from Day One, not least because we understand that no prior public consultation of the local community had been undertaken.

"There is overwhelming opposition to this massive commercial proposal in the countryside - 524 objections from local people and all five of the local parish councils object to the proposal.

"In contrast, there are only two letters of support... I put to you that as there are material planning considerations they must be considered.

"There can be no doubt what local people think of this application. As their elected representatives, please listen to their concerns.

"At the heart of this application is what in fact we are all about - protecting rural Devon from inappropriate development.”

The Council’s own Landscape Officer had stated that the site is “considered unsuitable for an inert waste landfill operation as it is located on a prominent hillside in a valued rural landscape locally designated as an Area of Great Landscape Value.

"It is considered that the proposed operation would degrade rather than conserve and enhance the landscape character and visual quality of the Haldon Hills AGLV for a period of 10-15 years and significant adverse effects would not be mitigated to acceptable levels.

"Therefore, it is contrary to policies W2, W12 and W18 of the Devon Waste Plan, policy EN2A of the Teignbridge local plan and NPPF paras 130 and 170.”

Recommending the scheme for approval, planning officers balanced the significant harm to the landscape and the visual impact of the development against the facility to maintain sufficient capacity for disposal of inert waste materials within the Exeter area.

It took the committee two rounds of voting to reach a decision. The first ended in a 7-7 tie. In the second vote, some councillors abstained meaning the motion was carried.

Devon CPRE says the "utterly disappointing outcome shows the opinion of local people does not carry enough weight".