Trago boss Bruce Robertson has won the right to build five new trademark 'fairy castle' towers at his Bickington shopping complex.

They will adorn a a multi-million pound garden centre which is currently taking shape there.

The successful businessman had been told by Teignbridge Council's head of planning, Steve Robinson, that permission for the additional towers should be refused.

He said they were out of keeping with the rural nature of the area.

This was despite the existence of 32 similar towers on the site and the store's location close to the A38, a ceramics factory and a proposed highway service station.

Mr Robertson told members of the council's development control committee on Monday that the existing towers at the 110-acre site set 'a very compelling precedent' and that the recommendation for refusal 'appears to rely solely on the rural location'.

He passed around photographs of both the Trago complex and what he described as the 'umistakeable BCT tower' which had recently been given permission on the other side of the A38.

Mr Robertson said that, at a meeting with Mr Robinson in 2002, the planning officer's personal dislike of the Trago towers had become 'immediately apparent'.

Mr Robinson had allegedly also claimed that 'his opinion was the opinion of the council'.

The Trago boss urged councillors to grant planning permission saying it would be 'an absolute travesty' if he had to take the matter to a planning appeal at which, he said, Mr Robinson's department had a 'woeful' track record.

First to defend the towers was ward member Cllr Jeremy Christophers, who said Trago's contribution to the district's economic wellbeing should not be underestimated.

He said: 'If Trago Mills wants these towers they should have them. Quite what the issue is I don't understand.'

The majority of his colleagues agreed and voted 18-1 to grant permission.

After the meeting, committee chairman Cllr Howard Milton said: 'Officers presented the committee with a fair report which had firm planning grounds for refusal. However, as a committee we decided that there were other considerations to be taken into account, including the economic development of the district and the value of Trago Mills' recognised branding to its business.

 'We felt that while there were very reasonable planning policy grounds for refusal, the wider range of issues counterbalanced them and that permission should therefore be granted.'