PEOPLE in Chewton Mendip have said they will fight plans to build hunt kennels and a flesh house in their village.

Mendip Farmers' Hunt must move from their present home in Priddy by the end of June after coming to the end of a lease. They say their group may be forced to fold if it does not find new premises.

But residents have expressed concerns about access to the chosen site at Dudwell Lane and increased levels of noise and smell from the site.

Villager Louis Agabani said that he was the closest resident and that the hunt had not kept villagers well informed of their plans.

"I don't want to run rough shod over what they are doing, but that is what they have done to us. They have truly divided this village.

"I am not anti-hunt, but we live in a very narrow lane that simply won't accommodate the extra traffic. And there will be a bad smell in the air there when the weather is hot."

Mr Agabani said he thought the hunt had not kept local people informed of their plans because they did not want to deal with objections during the early stages of the planning application.

"They've behaved so appallingly and their conduct is awful. They are using and abusing planning laws. They have already started doing some work on the site without permission."

A decision on the application will not be made by Mendip District Council until the end of July.

Richard Standing, joint-master of the hunt, said: "A planning officer lead us to believe that planning permission would be straightforward.

"We've been looking at twenty to thirty potential sites for the past three years but have yet to find one. "We have chosen the present site because it is in a quiet location. Traffic will not increase by a huge amount.

"No planning process is ever easy and we've tried hard to bring people on board. We wrote to all the neighbours in good time."

Laura Male

lmale@bvmedia.co.uk