WINKLEIGH residents have reacted angrily to the South West Regional Development Agency's confirmation that it paid £380,000 of taxpayers' money to purchase the site earmarked for a controversial biomass plant scheme.

John Taynton, corporate communications manager for SWRDA confirmed last week the government agency had paid £380,000 to acquire the 36-acre site at Winkleigh airfield.

Winkleigh resident David Kemp was angry that such a large amount of public money had been spent by SWRDA on acquiring the land.

'It is a waste to buy agricultural land in the hope it might be used for renewable energy and thereby depriving us of land that could be used for agriculture or tourism.

'For the RDA to get involved at this late stage smacks of collusion and high-handed action by government agencies,' said Mr Kemp.

'It puts undue pressure on Torridge District Council to tick a box to appease (Energy Minister) Stephen Timms, who is pushing this mad rush for renewable energy across the South West regardless of environmental impact,' he said.

Mr Kemp said he was unhappy the RDA was meeting the costs of acquiring the land and carrying out an environmental impact assessment that he felt should be the developers' responsibility.

'This project will destroy the Devon Heartland's tourism and blight the countryside forever,' he added.

Torridge and West Devon MP John Burnett said: 'I am amazed that the RDA have spent this colossal sum.

'What justification is there for spending this vast amount of public money? This project threatens to be a complete white elephant and a worthless gamble with the lives and the future of the people of Winkleigh and West Devon.'

Mr Burnett said following a recent meeting with Energy Minister Stephen Timms, he had been assured that the £11.5-million DTI grant to Peninsula Power was conditional and would not be signed off unless all the conditions were satisfactorily met.

'With regret, the minister had to acknowledge it was a gamble,' Mr Burnett said.

Three representatives from the RDA attended a parish council meeting held in Winkleigh earlier this month where they were grilled by local residents.

Mr Taynton said he had not been surprised by the strength of feeling expressed by villagers at the meeting.

'We were well aware there were very strong feelings, but we were delighted we were given the opportunity to go and to explain to the community what our relationship to the project was,' he said

'We are there to try and make sure that any decisions that are made are the right ones.'

Mr Taynton said he was aware that in situations where there were strong feelings in a community 'everyone can appear to be the villain', but he said the RDA had no hidden agenda.

Mr Taynton said the meeting had been 'very useful'.

He said the RDA would 'retain close communication with the parish council and the working party to keep them informed about what was happening and take on board their views.'

The company behind the scheme, Peninsula Power, says the innovative project would create jobs and bring extra investment into the local economy and international attention to North Devon.

Peninsula Power is due to hold local consultation on the plan in the New Year before submitting a planning application.