Fight against Devon 'industrial eyesore' persists as firm presses on

Determined campaigners have submitted another petition against amended plans to turn farmland owned of Exeter's Orange Elephant Ice Cream Parlour into an inert soil landfill site and temporary recycling centre. A third public consultation is currently ongoing after previous plans for Lower Brenton Farm at Kennford received huge opposition and concerns were raised by Devon County Council (DCC) and consultees.

The 75 acres of green fields has been chosen as a replacement for the Trood Lane landfill site at Matford in Exeter to sustainably dispose of clean soil on the outskirts of Exeter. The plans for Lower Brenton are temporary, with three phases each lasting three to four years.

Plans were initially submitted by the Exeter-based earthmoving and plant hire company in early 2022. Just over a week before a decision was due to be made on the proposals, BT Jenkins withdrew the application. It later admitted it had "got it wrong" and submitted amended plans following a public consultation.

In November 2023, Devon County Council (DCC) planning officers said the applicant's environmental and transport statements contained numerous 'errors, inaccuracies and omissions' that required correction before the authority could decide whether to approve or reject the application.

Months later, the information was provided prompting DCC to launch its own consultation so that people could comment on the latest submissions. The current consultation ends on December 6.

Further information has since been provided by the applicant after Peamore Park, which borders the northern boundary of the proposed landfill site and includes the mid-late 18th century Peamore House, was registered as a Grade II listed park and garden this year by Historic England. It claims the plans "will not harm" Peamore Park.

Last week, a group of local residents delivered a petition against the proposed development to DCC's headquarters at County Hall in Exeter, demanding that Devon’s landscape be protected.

It is claimed to have been signed by 3,325 people, but BT Jenkins has raised concerns about the 'accuracy' of its numbers and concerns that two separate petitions have been combined.

Mike Elliott, a member of campaign group Residents Against The Landfill (RATL), said: "In addition to the petition, over 1,100 objections have been submitted to DCC planners, as well as numerous comments expressing concern about the proposal registered by Statutory Consultees, including Teignbridge District Council, Exminster, Kenn and Shillingford Parish Councils, the Devon Countryside Access Forum and Devon County Council’s landscape officer.

"Local residents remain unconvinced that there is a need for a new landfill, and even if there was, this would be a terrible location for such an industrial eyesore, in the heart of a designated Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV)."

Responding to the applicant's concerns about its petition numbers, Mike insisted they are correct. He confirmed that campaigners first started a petition in September 2019 - one year before any plans for Lower Brenton were submitted - entitled Protect Devon’s Landscape to protect AGLVs, which Lower Brenton Farm is within. It also related to a different project, Lower Hare.

When the initial application for Lower Brenton was made public, a separate petition was started by a concerned resident, specifically related to the proposed site. When that application was withdrawn (in the face of a strong recommendation from the Chief Planner for refusal) the petition is said to have lain dormant.

Mike explained: "When the second application surfaced 15 months later, we edited the pre-existing petition - Protect Devon’s Landscape - to explicitly reflect both the approval of the landfill site at Lower Hare and the current consideration of Lower Brenton. Under the terms of the petition host Change.org, we made only time-sensitive updates to the petition which did not materially change the purpose, spirit or expression of the petition itself.

"Some people had signed both petitions. I personally have been managing the responses to both petitions to ensure that all duplicates were removed."

He added: "I also removed 97 spurious or questionable entries, which did not include legitimate name or address details."

Concerns have been raised by the applicant that changing the details of a petition people have signed would "risk misrepresenting why people had signed" and argued combining petitions and removing duplications "feels odd".

The latest planning application, said to be "significantly different" from plans submitted early in 2022, could be decided at DCC's Development Management Committee meeting on February 5.

Russell Lowton at BT Jenkins said: "We’re continuing to work with Devon County Council to ensure it has the information needed to make a decision on these important plans. We’ve carried out a number of thorough assessments which show no or very limited impact on the surrounding area.

"This follows extensive engagement with local communities which has helped refine our plans. Following feedback from the public, we’ve reduced capacity by 30 per cent to protect local wildlife, removed the entrance on the A379 and are keeping all public footpaths open.

"Vehicles will use a very similar route as those currently servicing our Trood Lane site which this new site will replace and the volume of HGVs will not increase from what it is now.

"Lower Brenton is a sustainable location for essential infrastructure that supports housebuilding and the local economy. It’s a responsible and sustainable solution."

He added: "“We’re sticking to the facts. We’ve carried out thorough assessments which show no or very limited impact on the surrounding area.

“We’ve also engaged local communities extensively. This has helped us refine our plans including reducing capacity by 30 per cent to protect local wildlife, removing the entrance on the A379 and keeping all public footpaths open.

“We remain open to discussing the plans with anyone who wishes to have a conversation."

To take part in the public consultation, click here. To find out more, residents can get in touch with BT Jenkins by calling freephone 0800 148 8911 or emailing consultation@btjenkins.uk