Users of Dawlish Countryside Park are concerned about plans by the nearby Cofton Country Holiday Park to create a storage and maintenance compound on land just across the boundary with the public open space.

The owners of the holiday park want to develop a triangular plot of land on the southern side of their site.

It will be used for storing caravans when not in use, and there will be two buildings, one for storing and repairing vehicles such as mowers and vans, and the other for keeping maintenance equipment, and as a general workshop area.

There will also be an enclosure containing a waste compactor, a small vehicle washdown and a gas cylinder storage compound.

Cofton Holiday Park says these works facilities are currently dispersed around the site, and it wants to bring them together in a purpose-built compound.

It says the scheme 'will make a meaningful improvement to the day-to-day operation of Cofton Holiday Park'.

Applicants say they'll minimise the visual impact

Teignbridge District Council, which will decide whether to allow the development, has received dozens of objections from people concerned about the potential effects on Dawlish Countryside Park.

They are unhappy about the visual impact of the development and the possible effect on wildlife, and some are also worried that it will create smells and noise.

Cofton Holiday Park's planning statement in support of the application acknowledges that the buildings and storage areas will be seen from the countryside park, but says steps will be taken to minimise the visual impact.

It says the hedges surrounding the site will be retained, and extra screening will be provided by two additional Devon hedge banks.

The two buildings will be single storey timber-clad barns 'with a character typical of this rural area'.

The planning statement says: 'It is not considered that the effect of any visibility would materially reduce the value of that land as a recreational resource'.