CONCERNED residents packed Madley village hall to discuss proposals for a multi-million pound waste treatment recycling plant in the Herefordshire village.

Three representatives from Estech Europe Ltd outlined how their facility would process 100,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste at the Stoney Street Industrial Estate each year.

However, it seems the majority of the 150 present left the meeting firmly against the development, which would bring 160 heavy goods vehicles to the site on a daily basis.

And in a show of defiance to the scheme, a number of Golden Valley residents have formed an opposition group called 'Waste Watchers'.

Spokesperson Anne Harrison said the meeting only made villagers more determined to see the application defeated.

"We heard how the plant would not only treat all of Herefordshire's waste, but also some of Worcester's too," she said. "And all the lorries will have to come through Hereford, via Belmont, to the A465 and past Clehonger on the B4352 to a C road at Stoney Street."

Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Hereford Virginia Taylor believes these communication links are insufficient for so many heavy vehicles.

"The B road from Belmont to Madley is totally inadequate and is dangerous enough as it is," she explained.

Volume

"I will be writing to Mike Dene, principal planning officer for waste and materials at the council, opposing this application on traffic and road grounds and making the point that with the volume of lorry movements such a plant would generate, it needs to be sited on a major road network."

Following discussions with Mr Dene, Mrs Taylor said the date for residents to offer their opinions to the council had been extended past the December 18 deadline.

"There was some confusion about the timetable for this application, but Mr Dene has confirmed that he will take written submissions from members of the public up to the end of the year," she said.

"The very earliest date the application could be heard would be February but given the nature of the application and the number of statutory bodies that will need to be consulted, he stressed the timetable was flexible," she added.