Opponents say that allowing waste ash to be processed in a Buckfastleigh quarry will turn the site into a goldmine for operators who stand to make millions by exploiting a tax loophole.

The companies have rejected the accusation, saying their business was legitimate.

Economist Neil Smith, chairman of Buckfastleigh Community Forum, said MVV Environment (Devonport) Ltd and Gilpin Demolition Ltd had taken steps to ensure the ash, which would be generated in a proposed Plymouth waste-to-power incinerator, was classified as 'inert'.

By doing so they could avoid paying landfill tax if the material, which Mr Smith and many others in the town fear will be toxic, ends up being buried at Whitecleave Quarry.

Mr Smith, who claimed to have spent six months studying the proposal, has sent his findings to Danny Alexander MP, chief secretary to the treasury, and to environment secretary, Caroline Spelman MP.

'It is our estimate that MVV would avoid approximately £5 million a year in landfill taxes on this one site alone if the incinerator bottom ash (IBA) waste is categorized as inert,' he said.

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