A LARGE-scale waste composting operation launched without planning permission on a farm near Catterick has been ordered to shut down amid concerns about its impact on the surrounding area.

Members of North Yorkshire County Council planning committee, who considered a retrospective application for approval on Tuesday, sympathised with the principle of recycling but concluded that the operator of the site at Silver Hill Farm, Tunstall, had not done enough to meet the objections of council officers and local people.

M Metcalfe and Sons began recycling green waste, brewery sludge, ice cream by-products and shredded medium density fibreboard two years ago.

The site operated under a temporary exemption licence issued by the Environment Agency, limiting the amount of material to be recycled at any one time, but the owners were told in January that if it were to become permanent, planning permission would be needed because it involved the importation and processing of waste.

Composted material is used as a soil conditioner and some of the shredded fibreboard is sold as animal bedding.

Metcalfes, which has recently signed new contracts, argued that there was a need for the operation because it reduced the amount of material sent to landfill and warned that jobs would be lost if the retrospective application were refused.

The planning committee, however, received 16 objections from local people worried about the scale of the operation, the presence of fibreboard, dust, smells, noise, traffic movements and drainage and pollution issues.

Members heard that bags once used by Richmondshire District Council for a trial scheme involving collection of green waste became wind-blown litter when the compost heaps were turned.

District council environmental health officers and Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust called for more investigations into concerns about formaldehyde vapours thought to come from the fibreboard.

Planning officer Rachel Pillar, who referred to delays in receiving more information, said Metcalfes was now asking for a decision to be deferred or for a temporary permission to be considered so that it could be established whether there were genuine problems.

They were proposing changes to the operation, including the recycling of green waste only, moving shredding further away from the nearest property and the removal of fibreboard from the site by March next year.

Miss Pillar said, however, that a risk assessment being compiled by the operator was incomplete and revised proposals would best be dealt with by a new application.

Local member Coun Carl Les told the committee that he was not against recycling or farm diversification but said: ''There are special concerns about the waste stream because it makes an odd mix.

"This is not just nimbyism; local people have real concerns.''

Metcalfes' planning adviser Dr Malcolm Bell denied a suggestion that the site produced an unpleasant cocktail, saying it handled straightforward materials which should be recycled rather than going down the drain.

He said the site represented £750,000-worth of investment for Metcalfes, which had the skill and expertise to run it.

Assessment showed that the operation was low risk and a number of aspects could be dealt with by planning conditions if the application were granted.

But Coun Bill Hoult, who opposed a deferment because he felt the site was in the wrong place, said: ''The difficulty the applicant is now in is of his own making because he carried on without proper permissions in place. I feel we are being strung along here.''

Metcalfes, which has had preliminary discussions with the county council and the Environment Agency about two alternative sites, made no comment after the decision.