DEFRA has been told it should meet its responsibility to restore the giant Ash Moor burial pits and not try to pass the cost on to Devon Council Tax-payers.

This was the firm message of Devon County Council's executive committee which met last week to discuss a surprise offer from DEFRA to buy out its controversial legacy of the foot and mouth crisis.

The pits, near Petrockstowe, were built by DEFRA to take 400,000 animal carcasses, at a cost of £5.8-million and £20,000 a week to maintain, but never used.

The cost, construction, siting and impact on the local communities were all heavily criticised by the National Audit Office and the Devon Foot and Mouth Inquiry.

A letter has now been sent to Animal Health Minister Elliot Morley from the county council urging DEFRA to undertake quality restoration of Ash Moor, which will support a nature conservation programme — the authority's preferred option.

The council's executive committee heard last week there were possible interests from community groups or Devon Wildlife Trust in taking over the site, the latter of which could attract Government grants not available to the county council.

Although willing to discuss any ideas for the land for the good of the community, the committee has made it clear it cannot justify asking council tax-payers effectively to pay for clearing up DEFRA's problem.

Lead negotiator on Ash Moor, assistant environment director David Andrew, explained that talks with Mr Morley on August 6 had been 'extremely successful' in securing the key pledges on the restoration and surrender of Ash Moor from future Government foot and mouth plans.

But he said there had been an element of surprise in DEFRA announcing that any quality restoration of the site was conditional on the county council buying the site and taking over responsibility for its management.

Mr Andrew said there was no truth in the idea that DEFRA was prepared to hand over Ash Moor as a gift.

'DEFRA's Head of Estates confirmed the department was driven by the Treasury and other considerations to recoup as much expenditure on the foot and mouth crisis as possible,' he said.

Some £350,000 was paid for the site at Ash Moor, which was estimated to be three and a half times the usual rate for such land.

The National Audit Office had estimated it would cost £1.2-million to restore Ash Moor, but there was no certainty of the final cost and the authority would be taking on a considerable risk if it took over the site, Mr Andrew added.

Deputy leader of the county council Brian Greenslade said: 'Our message to Mrs Beckett's department is thanks, but no thanks — you created this mess, you sort it out once and for all.

'We welcome DEFRA's positive response as far as it goes, but it is only two cheers from them so far.

'Mrs Beckett needs to intervene now, make sure her department completes the job it started and leave the local community with a positive legacy after all the trauma they were put through during the crisis.'

But member of campaign group STAMP (Stop the Ash Moor Pit) and local resident Joe Skinner said he felt the county council had perhaps been a little too hasty in turning down DEFRA's offer.

If the authority does not take it up, DEFRA intends to carry out a basic restoration and sell the land on the open

market.

'At the moment there seems to be an enormous variety of opinion as to how much the restoration is exactly going to cost and that is the problem,' said Mr Skinner.

'No-one seems to really know what they are talking about.

'We want this whole thing settled once and for all so the community can feel at ease again and that means Ash Moor freed from the hands of DEFRA and into those of Devon County Council or ideally a body like the Devon Wildlife Trust which only has one purpose — and that is nature conservation.'