PLANS for a waste management site have been approved by Richmondshire District Council despite an 800-name petition from opponents.

The proposals for the council-owned land next to Colburn lorry park were revealed earlier this month.

Opponents said the council has been trying to attract high-tech companies to a business park nearby and a waste bulking centre could deter them.

Neighbours also said that the new site could affect trade at a nearby caf, ruin working conditions at the new Colburn Health Centre, spoil the enjoyment of the nearby social club and damage small businesses.

But, at a meeting last Tuesday, members of the district council's environment and planning committee agreed the new facilities should go ahead.

Chairman Coun Jim Fryer said: "As these are essentially dry items, such as cans and plastics, there are minimal risks with smells, nuisance or pollution."

The authority is hoping the new facilities will help to save money and increase the amount of waste recycled in the Richmondshire district.

The authority's environmental protection officer Sean Little said: "The district is supposed to recycle ten per cent of all household waste by April next year and the new facility will help us to reach these targets."

However, Colburn town councillor Helen Grant said people who signed the petition felt let down by the authority, while Colburn ward district councillor Lynn Miller said she was extremely disappointed.

"The council could not even defer the planning issue for a site visit which would have been the appropriate way forward. More people signed the petition than voted at election time," she said.

* Planners also met at County Hall on Tuesday to ratify a bid for a waste transfer station at the Tancred quarry between Scorton and Brompton-on-Swale.

North Yorkshire County Council agreed to approve the project as long as applicant Yorwaste drops both an appeal against Richmondshire District Council's decision to refuse a similar operation at Bridge Road in Brompton-on-Swale and a separate bid for a waste transfer operation at the old landfill site on the eastern edge of the village.