CAMPAIGNERS who have battled to get rid of the giant £5.6-million foot and mouth burial pit at Ash Moor near Petrockstowe were this week welcoming a major breakthrough in their fight.

DEFRA is to submit 'new notification for the phased restoration of the site' along with a full environmental impact assessment, the Government's head of estates, Peter Green, confirmed to Devon County Council.

Until now the Government had not ruled out keeping the pit as a contingency plan should another foot and mouth outbreak occur.

West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett, who toured the controversial pit with senior DEFRA officials last week, was 'delighted' at the news.

Mr Burnett said: 'The DEFRA official confirmed to me that he was there to work out a timescale for the phased restoration of Ash Moor.

'I am delighted about this and I pay tribute to everyone who has helped in this long and crucial campaign — there was a huge risk of great danger to public health posed by this pit.'

Mr Burnett said when he toured Ash Moor on Friday, the barrows were 'choc-a-block' with water — they were dug ten metres deep, although the water table was about 1.5 metres in depth.

'Can you imagine what would have happened if they had filled it with this pernicious effluent? Thank God it was never used,' said Mr Burnett.

He said the pit, built to dispose of up to 400,000 animal carcasses at the height of the crisis, had been a 'massive waste' of public money which would eventually have run up a bill of more than £10-million.

'The Government must learn from this huge mistake. There is a real lesson to be learned here. They didn't consult, they didn't carry out an environmental impact assessment — at the very least they could have surveyed the site to see if it was suitable,' said Mr Burnett.

Ron Dawson, chairman of STAMP (Stop Ash Moor Pit), greeted the news with 'cautious delight'.

He said: 'It's a vindication of all we have ever said. Clearly, everything that was pointed out in regard to it being dangerous has been proved true by this climbdown.

'STAMP will continue to try and find answers as to why such an expensive undertaking was ever considered in the first place.'

Mr Dawson said STAMP will also push for compensation from the Government — he said the 'chasm' had put a 'blight of suspicion' on the area which had affected property prices.

Joe Skinner, a Meeth resident who campaigned vigorously for the re-instatement of the pit, said he felt 'cautious optimism' at the news.

Mr Skinner said: 'My feeling is that we have won a battle but we haven't won the war and until Ash Moor is re-instated, in whatever form is finally agreed to be acceptable to DEFRA, the county council and local residents, it is still an

issue.'

Cllr John Clatworthy, chairman of the county's development control committee which called for the immediate restoration of Ash Moor, said: 'I welcome the fact that DEFRA are coming forward with restoration plans. It is important now that we have clarification as to whether phased restoration will mean full restoration — and over what timescale.'

l A four-hour meeting took place at county hall on Wednesday between the county council and Halcrow, consultants acting for Defra.

Halcrow made it clear that formal confirmation of Defra's intentions for the future of Ash Moor was still awaited.

But it was agreed that a phased restoration scheme together with a retrospective environmental impact assesment would be prepared with the intention of submitting that to the council within the next two months.

The county team said the council intented to undertake full public consultation, including the local communities, on those proposals, which would take a further two months.

But the council indictaed it would be happy if Defra wanted to start removing some of the works from Ash Moor, such as tarmac and concrete hardstanding, ahead of the formal consultation process.