Residents vow to fight landfill plan

People living near to a Staffordshire landfill site are looking to set up a residents group to fight plans for a new waste facility there.

Bosses at Biffa Waste Services are seeking permission for an "anaerobic digestion" plant, which breaks down organic waste, at the Poplars landfill site on Lichfield Road, Cannock.

It creates fertiliser and biogas which can be used to generate electricity.

It would process 80,000 tonnes of food waste a year and if approved, could be operational by 2011.

The company has submitted the application to both Cannock Chase and Staffordshire County councils.

But critics claim the application is a ploy to extend the lifespan of the landfill site and will prevent the area being returned to the public as a landscaped area.

Biffa has denied this and say the facility will develop what is already going on at the site which includes a composting service.

"The gas from this would produce electricity so it is creating green energy from waste and there is a real need for this type of facility as we throw away millions of tonnes of food a year," spokesman Barry Walton previously said.

Cannock Conservatives held a public meeting this week at which residents were able to express their views about the proposal.

Action

Attending was Hawks Green ward councillor Keith Bennett who said local feeling against the plans was strong.

He said: "The residents are looking to form an action group to fight the plans as they are worried about a number of things.

"Everyone at the meeting was against the proposals."

Councillor Bennett said residents are concerned about potential bad smells, increased traffic and the lifespan of the site being increased past 2017.

"To be honest, people living here are up in arms about it," he added.

"If this application goes through, there will be uproar."

A report goes before district councillors later this month. The application will then go before the county council in November.

By Nick Pritchard