CONTROVERSIAL plans to operate a 24-hour waste treatment station in a small village look likely to be halted at a county council planning meeting next week.

Councillors have been urged to refuse applicant David Coning planning permission for the proposed plant in Tollerton, near Easingwold, amid growing concerns about the odours and noise it would create.

Hundreds of residents signed a petition objecting to the site, many of whom feared it would be a risk to their health and safety.

Local farmer Mr Coning wants to develop a composting plant and treatment station on land off Sykes Lane in order to handle 25,000 tonnes of waste a year.

The compost material would be applied to about 40 hectares of local agricultural land as a replacement for inorganic fertilisers.

Mr Coning said the types of waste which he envisaged coming to the plant would include waste from abattoirs, lime sludge and effluent treatment sludge from a tannery and other biodegradable matter.

Almost 400 local residents have objected to the plan by signing a petition started by Alison Wade, daughter of Frank Wade, the Hambleton district councillor for the Tollerton ward.

One local man said the proposals had been the talk of the village and people were genuinely concerned about the smells.

Residents also have the support of Tollerton Parish Council, which has strongly objected the proposals.

Councillors' concerns include increases in traffic and the unacceptable impact that the site would have on the character of the village.

Objections to the plan have been backed by the environmental health officer for the Hambleton District, who wrote in a report to the county council: "There is a significant potential for odour and noise problems to affect properties on Sykes Lane".

County council director of environmental services Mike Moore said the proposal did not comply with a number of local policies.

County councillors will meet on Tuesday next week to discuss the application.