VILLAGE leaders are fighting plans to turn a waste transfer station into a permanent facility that would handle nearly 60,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.

Marchwood Parish Council has lodged an objection to proposals submitted by Veolia Environmental Services, which wants to build a new waste sorting centre on the old incinerator site at Bury Road.

Parish councillors say they were repeatedly assured that the existing facility was only a temporary measure.

Waste transfer activities have been carried out on the site since the incinerator was closed on environmental grounds in the mid-1990s. A new rubbish burner has since been built at Marchwood Industrial Park.

The decision to oppose the new refuse sorting centre was taken at a meeting of the parish planning committee.

Councillor Fiona Hardy said: "When plans for the new incinerator were agreed we were assured that the old incinerator site would be restored to its original condition. Now Veolia wants to build a new waste transfer station on the site."

The parish council's former chairman, Darryl Hindle, said that the land was in the strategic gap, and he accused Veolia of underestimating the number of lorries that would use the facility. The current chairman, Keith Petty, said that the site was only 120 metres from a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

He added: "It's right at the entrance to the village and in a very sensitive area."

Several speakers complained about the large number of industrial facilities that had been built in Marchwood.

"We have been tolerant but our goodwill is being pushed too far," said Cllr Petty.

New Forest District Council is due to debate Veolia's scheme next month. The proposed new facility would handle 59,500 tonnes of rubbish every year, including 10,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial waste.

A document accompanying the application says that the only other available land, the Blue Haze landfill site near Ringwood, is too remote.

It adds: "The Marchwood site is the most suitable. It's strategically located to serve the needs of south-west Hampshire and benefits from good access to the Hampshire lorry network.

"The proposed development will not introduce new activities into the area."