Proposed landfill dubbed 'environmental disaster'

Parish councillor Claire Dummett said the proposal is an "environmental disaster"

A proposed landfill site in Devon would be an "environmental disaster", according to a local councillor.

It comes after developer BT Jenkins applied to turn land at Lower Brenton Farm, near Kennford, into landfill for inert building waste.

But Councillor Claire Dummett, of Teignbridge District Council, said the "same problems, the same issues" still existed in the most recent application after it was first proposed in 2021.

A spokesperson for the developer said the plans were both "responsible and sustainable" as it would prevent the need to transport soil across the region.

Ms Dummet told the BBC: "The sound, the noise, the dust, the pollution - it's an environmental disaster, which it always has been."

Resident Janet Lillie added: "The footpaths are technically going to be kept open. But do you want to walk next to a mound of dirt 2.5m [8ft] high that's got an industrial site and the other end?"

BT Jenkins said other alternative sites had been considered but these had been found to be "unsuitable".

Outlining its plans for the site, a spokesperson said: "A small crusher - that sounds similar to a tractor - will be used to breakdown materials for recycling.

"This is not expected to operate every day."

A public consultation on the proposal is running until the end of August.