A SERIOUS loophole in planning law has been highlighted by the engineering works currently under way on the railway line between Teignmouth and Dawlish.

Some residents and councillors are angry that they have never been consulted about the £6.3 million scheme to stabilise and make safe the cliffs of the Amber Coast, one of the most famous stretches of railway line in the country.

They say that the law does not appear to provide environmental protection in a sensitive area, and that newly installed rock fences, designed to prevent rock falls onto the railway, will deface the beautiful cliffs forever.

Network Rail is engaged on the three-phase scheme under a general development order which does not oblige it to consult or gain local authority approval before starting.

Now, in a bid to defuse the critics, Network Rail and its contractor Dean & Dyball are to meet local councillors at a site visit in Teignmouth next Thursday.

Phase three will last about 15 months, and cost £2.8 million. It involves providing rock netting along the cliff face which will help stop slips and prevent any rocks or stones ending up on the line.

Phase one, which began in July 2001, cost £2.1 million and involved emergency work in five sites along the cliff face.

The £1.4 million phase two, which finished last month, provided the rock fences at the bottom of the cliff.

Network Rail's project manager Chris Arnold said: 'The two phases to be completed so far have been a great success. In the past 18 months there have been some 24 landslips of varying degrees of seriousness, ranging from one or two tonnes of material to 300 tonnes, on each occasion. Our scheme will help cut that number, and at the same time the netting and fencing will help contain any moving material.'

But businessman Peter Doel, whose family has run a men's outfitters shop in Teignmouth for about 100 years, and who loves the railway, said that the rock fences were an absolute eyesore, and in some places they were an unnecessary eyesore.

'I don't deny that in some areas rock fall can be dreadful, such as between Sprey Point and Woodland Avenue, but I feel that Network Rail has taken a sledgehammer to crack a nut,' he said. 'The only place in my lifetime where a rock fall has derailed a train is between the station and where the line joins the sea wall.'

Shaldon resident Tony Brown said the rock fences were crude and ugly.

'It is appalling in this day and age that local people or their representatives are not consulted about works of this magnitude,' he said. 'Why isn't there greater protection for these beautiful cliffs?'

He contrasted the attitude of Network Rail with that of the Environment Agency, which had been very concerned to consult locals about the proposed flood wall on Teignmouth's back beach.

At a recent meeting of Teignmouth Town Council, town clerk David Tickell said that he had received a number of calls from members of the public extremely concerned about the visual impact of the engineering work.

Cllr David Weekes was not so worried about the netting, but more about the rock fences.

'There is no real uniformity to them, and their galvanised finish is not very attractive,' he said.

Cllr Dick Petherick hoped that Network Rail would be amenable to toning down the appearance of the structures.

'We won't stop the work, because they'll claim we could lose the railway,' he added.

Jo Smyth, a spokeswoman for Network Rail, said that the cliffs were unstable, and that safety was a priority.

She commented: 'We want to stop landslips, and preserve the line for future generations. We understand that some people are questioning the need for some of the rock fences, but we would beg to differ.

'We are sorry if residents and councillors are unhappy with the rock fences and the netting, but they are needed from an engineering point of view. We have varied the height of rock fences to accommodate the fact that residents don't like their appearance.

'When we undertake major projects we do endeavour to liase with local planning authorities. We appreciate that there is a lot of interest in what we are doing, and so we have arranged to meet local councillors on site next week to explain how necessary it is to protect the railway line.

'The netting should solve the problem in the long term.'

A spokesman for Teignbridge Council said that they had 'no immediate knowledge of the work, which is being done under a general development order'.

Any residents with any concerns is asked to contact Teignbridge Council on 01626 361101.