A DRIVE to boost production of biomass - trees and plants used as environment-friendly energy sources - has been launched by the Government.

Former NFU leader Sir Ben Gill will head a new Government-appointed task force to stimulate biomass supply and demand in the South West. The plan is to help meet renewable energy targets and to boost farming, forestry and the rural economy.

Food and Farming Minister Larry Whitty has also unveiled a new £3.5million UK-wide Bio-Energy Infrastructure Scheme offering grants to help harvest, store, process and supply biomass for energy production.

The initiative comes while Torridge district council is considering a controversial planning application by Peninsula Power in mid Devon for a new biomass plant to be built on the 36-acre former Winkleigh Airfield.

An environmental impact assessment into Peninsula Power's £40m proposal for the site was funded by the South West Regional Development Agency. The proposals have caused considerable concern among local residents, who fear the impact of such a new plant could be detrimental to the countryside.

David Lausen, for the action group Devon Under Serious Threat, said: "The developer Peninsula Power Limited and its main backer, the South West Regional Development Agency, are endeavouring to portray the project as green, that it will benefit the area by stimulating the energy crop industry and that there will be minimal disturbance to people's lives in mid Devon.

"Nothing could be further from the truth."