A farmer whose family has worked the land for 500 years has described opponents of his plans for a biogas plant as newcomers who do not understand the countryside.

Stuart Cole is attempting to build a £4 million anaerobic digestion and renewable energy scheme at Menchine Farm in Nomansland, near Tiverton.

The project would process waste from surrounding farms, make his poultry unit self-sufficient for energy and power up to 15 homes by feeding into the National Grid.

But a group of residents have formed a protest group – NOMAD – which opposes the project. They argue it has been sprung on residents without consultation and say a succession of heavy lorries bringing "high-risk animal by-products" to feed the digester will clog up lanes.

A similar application for a much bigger £25 million biogas scheme at nearby Rackenford was rejected last month, with planners saying the greenfield site was the wrong location and the scale too big.

Mr Cole says attempts to block the project are a "classic example" of the "not in my back yard" mindset.

"They move to the country to their dream country home and don't want anything to change," Mr Cole said.

"The protesters have described this as an industrial process but farming is an industry and has to move forward and do its bit for recycling."

Barry Cornes, a "prime mover" in NOMAD, describes the allegations by Mr Cole as "unfair" and says the group has wide support from surrounding villages. He points to more than 130 letters of objection received by Devon County Council against only a handful in favour.

"This is totally unsuitable for a farm and is a large-scale industrialisation of the countryside," he said.

"[Mr Cole] does not know how this is going to work and how it is not going to impact on our lives."

Plans were submitted to Devon County Council in June for a plant capable of producing up to 1.2MW of electricity, which would be fuelled by 26,000 tonnes of waste from poultry farms within a 25-mile radius.

Janet Horrocks, who lives near the proposed site, predicted up to 42 heavy lorries a day carrying waste, and said it would endanger children. "It's going to be absolutely horrendous," she said.

Mr Cole rejected the NOMAD claims and said the "worst case scenario" was estimated to be 20 lorry journeys a day, although he expected the number to be much lower.

A decision is expected at a planning committee meeting on September 1.