THE future of plans to scrap rusting US warships in the North-East will be decided next week.

After years of wrangling, inquiries and legal battles, Able UK may be about to receive the go-ahead to begin dismantling warships in Hartlepool.

The scheme has been opposed by environmentalists who say the first batch of US Naval ships should never have sailed from the US.

They say the rusting vessels pose an environmental risk and that they should have been recycled in their home country.

But Able said it had the expertise to dismantle the ships and says its facilities could make Hartlepool a leading force in a market worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

Before that can happen, the company needs planning permission for extensive alterations to its Graythorp site, on the outskirts of the town.

The three planning applications and a Hazardous Substances Consent will be considered by the council's planning committee at the Borough Hall, Headland, Hartlepool, next Friday.

The main application covers a range of proposals to extend the use of the site to include the construction, repair, refurbishment and decommissioning of all types of ships, vessels and other craft, and for the manufacture of wind turbines.

It also covers a variety of other works, including the construction and refurbishment of quays, the construction of a cofferdam - an enclosure beneath the water to allow water to be displaced by air for a dry work environment - and new dock gates.

It also wants to install a railway track, metal recycling facilities and add new industrial and warehouse buildings.

There are three further applications - two relating to alternative options to the installation of a cofferdam and an application for Hazardous Substances Consent.

In June, the borough council said it would not contest an appeal by Able against its refusal last year to grant the same permission.

An inquiry by the Planning Inspectorate is scheduled for next month.

Able chairman Peter Stephenson said: "Much attention has been concentrated on the issue of ship recycling. However, that is only one small element of the massive potential for the yard which, it should be remembered, began its life building ships in 1913 and, more recently, has been used for the successful construction and recycling of large oil platform structures.

"Our plans for the refurbishment of the dry dock and construction of the deep quays open up the possibilities of attracting a wide range of construction projects, which we have been actively negotiating with a number of clients."

Peter Tweddle, spokesman for Hartlepool and North Tees Friends of the Earth, said the group was disappointed that the applications were to be heard before next month's appeal.

He said: "Our feeling is that the whole thing has been manoeuvred so that the planning application will go through next week, and the appeal will be redundant.

"The council should be saying 'as the people of Hartlepool have said no, we were right to refuse this planning application in the first place and we should refuse it now'."

A public meeting attended by legal experts from Friends of the Earth will be held at the Grand Hotel, Swainston Street, Hartlepool, on Monday, at 11.30am