Decision day for landmark landfill site

A decision is expected later on whether a controversial landfill site on the edge of Exeter can go ahead.

Devon County Council members are due to approve or reject the plans for a building waste landfill site near Kennford on Wednesday.

The proposed site is owned by the Taverner family which also owns the Orange Elephant Ice Cream company with its landmark orange elephant by the side of the A38 Devon Expressway.

A decision will also be made on separate plans to extend the landfill site at Holmacott near Barnstaple and allow the construction of storage bays.

The plans for the site near Kennford would involve three phases of landfill over about a ten-year period.

County council planning officers recommended refusing the application and stated in their report "the scale, design and nature of the proposals would result in significant adverse effects on the distinctive agricultural character and scenic quality of the area".

Developers said changes to the landscape would be "barely noticeable" following restoration work.

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