THE man behind the controversial multi-million pound scheme to build a biomass plant on Winkleigh airfield met parish councillors this week — but only at a neutral venue, after refusing to come to the village itself.
Roger Barton, managing director of Peninsula Power, met representatives of the parish council on Tuesday in nearby Lapford.
Mr Barton had told the Winkleigh Working Party that Peninsula Power felt it was 'not in the interests of safety or public order to attend any meetings in Winkleigh at present. 'Our safety and privacy cannot be guaranteed and we do not wish to compromise our ability to hold productive meetings,' he said in an e-mail to the working party.
Chairman of the Winkleigh Society David Lausen dismissed the safety concerns raised by Mr Barton and said one meeting with parish councillors in another village did not constitute consultation with the people of Winkleigh.
Parish councillor Marjorie Bowers, who attended the meeting, said: 'I do feel personally, if they (Peninsula Power) want to be putting the project in Winkleigh, they should come to Winkleigh and give us their views.'
Mrs Bowers said she felt councillors 'did not get answers' to questions they asked at the meeting on issues of transport and technology.
Winkleigh Parish Council is meeting next week formally to discuss the outcome of the meeting.
Neil Devons, spokesmen for Peninsula Power, said the company felt the meeting had been productive. 'The councillors asked us a lot of very relevant questions. From our point of view we wanted to hear which were top of their priorities of concerns.'
Mr Devons said among the main issues raised were transport, employment, the supply of biomass materials and the credibility of the company.
Mr Devons said Peninsula Power was able to set out its timetable, and further meetings with parish councillors were planned.
He said the firm also intended to set up a travelling exhibition outlining the benefits of the project.
Around 20 members from recently formed pressure group DUST —Devon Under Serious Threat — travelled to Lapford to make their presence felt outside the meeting. The police were called following reports of a public disturbance, but DUST deny the protest was anything other than peaceful at all times.
The protest follows a silent demonstration held by DUST, as talks about the biomass proposal went on behind closed doors last week.
Representatives from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) were in Winkleigh last week to meet the Winkleigh Community Village Working Party to discuss the project.
More than 50 members of the DUST group were outside the village hall where the meeting took place to protest that it was not being held in public.
Ian Piper and Dominic Vincent from SWRDA met members of the working party.
The latest meeting follows a packed public meeting held in December, when three SWRDA representatives were grilled by villagers angry at the agency's use of taxpayers' money to facilitate the scheme.
Winkleigh Community Village Working Party, which comprises representatives of the parish council, businesses and residents of Winkleigh airfield and other village groups, revealed this week it has completed its remit as far as possible.
A report has been produced for the parish council, it is sealed and will only be distributed to councillors once a planning application for the biomass plant has been lodged.
Wendy Mondy, communication secretary for the working party, said they did not wish to hinder any consultation process the developer may wish to have with the parish council and the community.
She said: 'We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the amazing amount of dedication by all concerned as well as all the hard work done by members of the working party.
'This has been a huge learning experience for the community involved. Now we have the confidence and knowledge that we can work together under pressure and truly value everyone for their strengths and the weaknesses that make us all human and, as a result, can achieve great things.'