Battle over National Trust sale to developer

The National Trust has been criticised for selling three acres of land to a housing developer.

Local residents said they had offered to the buy Bonds Meadow near Bovey Tracey in Devon.

"We are going to fight for every single tree and every single dormouse," said campaigner Sally Morgan.

The National Trust said it had sold the land to the higher bidding developer because it was obliged to do so as a charity.

Campaign group Save Bonds Meadow had raised nearly £20,000 to try to save the site.

They said the "rich plot of land" has more than 700 species of flora and fauna, including bats, newts and dormice and is "a much-loved quiet corner of the town".

"We've got three acres here which has been allowed to rewild for the last 15 years," said Ms Morgan.

"There's a plethora of wildlife in there and there are mature trees.

"We've been trying to save it and buy it from the National Trust, but we found out they have accepted the money from a developer."

A National Trust spokesperson said it had agreed a sale "to a local developer with whom we will work closely to ensure any plans are sympathetic to the local landscape and wildlife".

It said the land had been given to it "as part of a legacy" for the National Trust to sell to support the upkeep of the nearby Parke estate.

The National Trust said as a charity it was "required to maximise the benefit of the land left to us as investment, and unfortunately a bid from the local community fell significantly short of other bids".

It said it had been "liaising with the community group for well over a year, and despite making them aware of the value of the land, unfortunately their offer fell significantly short of that figure".

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].