VILLAGERS outraged by plans to build a giant slurry pit in an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty fear it will be used to create a commercial business used by farmers other areas.

People in Etchilhampton, near Devizes, also question why farmer John Curnick has chosen to site the lagoon, which is the size of four Olympic swimming pools, in their village rather than closer to his farm at All Cannings.

At a public meeting on Monday evening parish council chairman Mervyn Woods said they were convinced that the new slurry pit was far too big for the needs of Mr Curnick of Manor Farm, All Cannings.

He said that figures obtained from experts showed that the proposed lagoon's capacity of 6255 cu m was at least double the size required to deal with slurry and dirty water from Manor Farm.

The parish council and other villagers believe that Mr Curnick, who is related to Jim Butler of Bromham House Farm, Bromham, will use the extra capacity to get rid of waste from an anaerobic digester in Bromham which opened earlier this year.

Mr Woods said: "We believe that the intention is for the lagoon to store digestate transported from the Butlers' digester in Bromham to be spread eventually at Manor Farm, All Cannings."

The village has support from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Sustainable Devizes, Kennet CPRE and North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty who have all written to Wiltshire Council to object to Mr Curnick's plans for a slurry pit and a concrete pad for storing silage.

The wildlife trust pointed out worries about river contamination. It's head of conservation Stephen Davis said: "It is most concerning to hear of the proposals to store such large volumes of potentially damaging farm waste within such close proximity to the headwaters of the River Avon SAC. "Etchilhampton water feeds directly into this vulnerable and sensitive freshwater ecosystem. The River Avon is the most species rich chalk stream in the whole of the United Kingdom, and is designated as being of European Importance for nature conservation."

Rebecca Davies planning advisor to North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty said: "There is significant concern over contamination in terms of transporting the waste to the lagoon, whether in a pipe or tanked vehicles. The proposed development would cause significant harm to the natural beauty of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

Kate Fielden vice chairman of Kennet CPRE said: "Although these applications are for facilities required by the farm, they raise numerous questions

about their intended scale, suitability in terms of location, safety of the natural environment, practicality of intended operation, and sustainability in the short and longer term. We believe more suitable sites may be found for these facilities and trust that the Council will refuse the

current proposals and encourage the applicant to consider alternatives."

Neither Mr Curnick or Mr Butler responded to the Gazette's request for a comment on the plan which is expected to be discussed by an eastern area planning committee before Christmas.

But Mr Curnick's agent Michael Goff said in a letter to Wiltshire Council that the capacity of the lagoon had been based on the volumes of waste generated by the farm's dairy unit and rain that falls into the lagoon. He said the capacity of 6,255 cu m would allow for six months of storage for his herd.