RESIDENTS are to call a temporary halt to their protests against a planned waste plant in a bid to win talks with developers and council officials.

The Stainton Grove Action Group said it has been told to stay away from the site near Barnard Castle, County Durham, when bulldozers move in tomorrow to level the land for development.

A meeting to hear their views, at which representatives of Teesdale District Council, which owns the site, Durham County Council, which wants to build the waste plant, and operators Premier Waste Management would be present, has already been cancelled.

Ruth Renton, action group co-ordinator, said she had been told by a county council official to pull back from any protests otherwise a fresh meeting would not go ahead.

She said this had been agreed as a "gesture of goodwill" and also in the hope that all work at the site would cease until the meeting takes place.

Residents have been angered by the decision to grant planning permission for the household waste plant, and said it would create a health hazard, lead to problems with heavy lorry traffic and destroy a children's play area.

A planned meeting was cancelled last week by Charles Anderson, chief executive of Teesdale District Council, because he had not received advance notice of all the questions that campaigners wanted to put to council officials.

More than 500 people have signed a petition against the waste plant, while one protestor, John Paul Greaves, chained himself to a door at Teesdale council offices.

Mrs Renton said they were still hopeful that their pressure would pay off.

She said: "We feel that this site was improperly chosen, and are hoping to push for a public inquiry, while also fighting this through the European Parliament and with the Local Government Ombudsman."