ELDERLY occupants of a residential park in Sampford Courtenay claim their surrounding wooded retreat and wildlife haven is to be 'vandalised' after planners gave the go-ahead for a bungalow.

But the ward councillor who supported the application defended the decision and said it was 'a good infill development'.

The decision by West Devon Council's planning committee to approve outline permission for the home has baffled locals after it was refused on two previous occasions — the last being six months ago.

Previously rejected because it was deemed to be 'sporadic development in the countryside' — the view also taken by

planning officers — residents now fear it may set a precedent for future development.

But the council's ward member for Sampford Courtenay Cllr Noel Cartwright has described the site as an 'overgrown garden' completely suitable for an infill development between The Beeches and the Railway cottages on the other side.

One of the residents of The Beeches Residential Park Brian Wilson, who was head forester with the Duchy of Cornwall for 29 years, said woodland was precious as England had the second lowest percentage of woodland in the European Union.

'Only eleven per cent of this country is woodland and felling these trees to make way for a bungalow amounts to vandalism,' he said.

'There have also been 34 bird species recorded in the wood and pheasants, foxes and even deer have been seen in there.

'Once any clearance is done it will affect the habitat, especially the oaks which are very valuable from a wildlife point of view.'

Mr Wilson said he regretted not sending a letter of objection before the proposal went to committee or pushing for a wildlife assessment to be done but assumed it would automatically be rejected considering the history.

'We all came to live here because The Beeches is very secluded and surrounded by woodland but now the precedent has been set for development, who knows where it will stop?'

Other inhabitants of The Beeches said they felt 'let down' by Cllr Cartwright, who supported the proposal by Mr and Mrs Daly, of Lapford.

Bob Hayes said: 'He did not even have the decency to ask us what our views were and he is supposed to be representing us.'

Chairman of the parish council David Sercombe said the council was 'very surprised' and 'disappointed' by the planning committee's decision.

'The only difference with this proposal is that it has been moved slightly to the front of the woodland — it may save one or two trees but it does not change anything. It should not be there at all.'

Mr Sercombe said the council had invited CllrCartwright to its next meeting to explain his reasons for supporting the application.

Cllr Cartwright told the Times he did not believe this application would set a precedent as each proposal was considered on its own merits.

It was within the curtilege of a house that was built in the wood more than 50 years ago and the trees were not protected, he said.

'It's an overgrown garden and between two existing developments,' he added. 'I considered it to be a good infill development and sometimes with planning issues you cannot always represent people's views on the situation but do your best from a planning

perspective.'

Agent for the applicant Rowan Edwards said the so-called wooded site was full of self-seeded sycamore and scrub and the house at 30 metres by 30 metres would cause little damage.

Planning officer John Milverton said the Devon Wildlife Trust was not consulted specifically but all applications would be sent to the charity as a matter of course and they had their own maps of specific sites of interest.

He confirmed that 15 letters of concern had been received by the planning authority from residents of The Beeches since the apllication was approved.

'The planning committee is not bound to follow advice and can interpret policies differently, which they did in this instance after seeing a video showing the site and trees in question,' he said.

Mr Milverton added that detailed plans would have to be submitted before the bungalow was built and every effort would be made to minimise the impact of the development.