A NATIONAL Trust proposal to flood almost 50 acres of land near Cotehele came under fire at a meeting of St Dominick Parish Council last Wednesday. Twenty-nine members of the public attended the meeting in the village hall ? and only one was in favour of the project to flood Haymarsh, on the banks of the River Tamar. Councillors voted unanimously to oppose the scheme which would include knocking three 27-metre holes in the dyke and capping a mineshaft in order to create a larger reedbed area, which would take 15 to 20 years to develop. National Trust tenant farmer Andrew Redwood, who has animals grazing on the land, said he had been told by the trust when he took it over that the fields would be flooded. Mr Redwood said: ?I am totally for environmental issues, but I am slightly prejudiced against the flooding as the land is crucial to the viability of the farm.? Mr Redwood, an organic farmer, said trying to find alternative organic land would not be easy ? non-organic land would take two years to be approved. Apart from visual impact, maintenance and possible silting, another concern was what provision had been made by the trust should the scheme fail, and whether it had the money to put matters right. People were not convinced the scheme would work, as the area would probably only be flooded at spring tides about three or four times a year. Cllr Jack Spiers said grazed marshland was rare. The Countryside Agency?s report when the valley was designated an Area of Outstanding Naturasl Beauty had said the loss of salt marsh or water meadows would have a detrimental effect. St Dominick resident Mary Schofield said a study by Plymouth scientists recommended maintaining the current level of reedbeds. There were still large amounts of metals and arsenic in the silt, which would be released. ?The species there at the moment are more tolerant to the contamination, but new species won?t be and won?t survive,? she said. Resident Gordon Hodge said that at a meeting in May all who attended were against the project and to date 150 people had signed a petition. The trust has said the project will improve the landscape in the long-term and would reduce the risk of the River Tamar flooding in that area because the wetland would absorb energy from the river. Joe Lawrence from the National Trust attended the meeting in a personal capacity. He said increasing the reedbed width would attract more wildlife and vegetation ? the banks would become coarse, creating a habitat for mammals and barn owls. There would also be access around the area, providing interest for birdwatchers. Julian Brook-Horton of the Environment Agency ? also there in a private capacity ? said research indicated that silting would not be a problem, but excessive erosion was more of a concern to the Queen?s Harbour Master. Council chairman Julie Wenmouth asked people to write to the planning department of Caradon Council by July 14 expressing their views. The similar bid by the trust three years ago was rejected by Caradon planners.