THE public should 'fight tooth and nail' to protect two nature sites in Bridport.

That was the view of speaker after speaker who came to make their views known to Bridport town councillors on the planning committee about two applications for certificate of lawfulness on use of the Britt Valley caravan site and the Britt River camp site.

The certificates would establish the use of the two sites on West Bay Road for 31 days a year from July 4 to August 13 for unlimited numbers of caravans and tents.

Both have designations - one is a SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest and the other a SNCI Site of Nature Conservation Interest.

Former Bridport town councillor Tony Fifield said: "The SNCI site and the SSSI site, the highest level in this country in terms of protection, are the only ones in Bridport and the only ones in the entire area and are unique to Bridport and are part of our heritage and we should fight tooth and nail to preserve that heritage.

"The plants on that area are protected under law.

"At the moment 28 vehicles travelling across there for four weeks of the year is not a problem, the Environment Agency agree.

"I wonder what they'd think about 1,000 vehicles which is quite possible.

"Tents are being introduced to this certificate of lawfulness - tents are far more injurious to plants.

"It is the district council's responsibility that no developments take place locally that injure protected species and sites of nature conservation."

He added that the site was in a flood risk area and there was a real danger of the flood protection bank being damaged.

Richard Nicholls spoke on behalf of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, saying it regarded the application as a change of use.

He said "If it goes to unlimited use it will require not only showers but toilets to be provided plus roadways.

"We are really concerned about this because one is an SSSI. The application when it first went in was limited to protect the species on the site.

"What is happening here is totally unacceptable."

He added that if the area was covered in tents and caravans it would put a huge strain on the NHS and infrastructure locally.

Councillors criticised West Dorset District Council for its lack of enforcement on the site for many years and said they would be pressing for round table discussions with everyone involved from the district council's legal team, to Natural England, to sort out the issues around site licences, certificate of lawfulness, the lack of enforcement and the need for retrospective planning permission.

Cllr Dave Rickard said: "The designation of those sites as being of conservation interest is at risk and that I believe is a prosecutable offence so I don't see how the council could grant a certificate of lawful use on a legally protected site when the owners have been illegally using it for at least 16 years. It just beggars belief."

Comments on the applications need to be made to WDDC by tomorrow (Jan 13)