Supporters of the controversial Centrax industrial estate plans have forced another round of knockabout politics after the plans for the Milber site were thrown out by Teignbridge Council's development control committee. Its critics said the scheme, which will involve the loss of 14 acres of land granted Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) status situated on the area's highest hill, was premature and hadn't been tested by public opinion. Concerns were also expressed that additional traffic would result in chaos at Penn Inn and that a new junction to allow traffic on and off of the estate would result in dangerous conditions close to the brow of a hill on Shaldon Road. When it came to the vote, 14 councillors rejected the plans and eight supported it. But those in favour, which included leader Cllr Alan Connett, invoked special rules to bring the application back for the next meeting of the full council on April 10. They argued that employment land was in short supply and to wait for the local development framework (LDF) to deliver alternative sites was unacceptable. They also feared that the opportunity to make use of a grant from the Rural Development Agency would be lost if the plan was delayed. Haccombe-with-Combe Parish Council, which has opposed the application, is now preparing to contact all 46 district councillors. The parish clerk, BBC wildlife film-maker Andrew Cooper, previously emailed them with a list of concerns on March 1 and said he would repeat the exercise. 'Parish councillors are very concerned at the apparent change to the boundary of the AGLV to accommodate the proposed development,' he said. 'The AGLV is still there, AGLVs do not move or go away. 'Nothing has changed since the area was designated, so the validity of changing the boundary is highly questionable. Presumably, the change was made solely to accommodate this development.' Haccombe parish councillor Ken Tucker fully supports Mr Cooper's actions and said of the planning fight: 'It's a bit like the Grand National. Many fences have been overcome like Becher's Brook, but we are now in the final furlong.' Newton Abbot Town Council has said it is happy with the new road lay out proposed by Centrax, but is concerned about the loss of the AGLV.
