Plans to build industrial units on the site of an ancient road in South Devon, despite opposition from some local councillors, have been approved.
The road at Sherford, which dates back over 2,000 years and is an historic trading route, has already been examined by archaeologists and will now be preserved beneath the soil as a new business park is developed on the site.
Members of South Hams Council's development management committee voted in favour of a plan to carve 'platforms' into the land adjacent to the A38 near Plympton, where the industrial units will be erected.
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Although permission for the project had previously been granted, the latest application was for minor alterations to the platform levels.
Some councillors voiced concerns about insufficient information to make an informed decision, while others called for the preservation of the Roman-era road.
Archaeological excavations on the site have unearthed evidence of an ancient road, Bronze Age dwellings, Roman farmsteads, and Ice Age remains of mammoths, rhinos, and wolves in the vicinity.
Developers have committed to analysing and preserving these discoveries before making them available for public viewing.
Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Dartington and Staverton) raised concerns about whether the platforms could be repositioned to preserve an ancient road. However, committee chairman Cllr Mark Long (Ind, Salcombe and Thurlestone) pointed out that approval had already been granted.
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Cllr Lee Bonham (Lib Dem, Loddiswell and Aveton Gifford) said: "I don't think we are doing ourselves justice.
"We have got a site here with enormous heritage and we aren't making sufficient effort to look at ways of preserving it.
"I know the government wants us to build, build, build, but we need to build in a responsible way."