PEOPLE living close to the site of a proposed waste recyling plant last night vowed to form an action group to oppose the scheme.

They also called for a meeting with councillors to discuss the plan.

Dozens of people living at Stainton Grove, near Barnard Castle, have vowed to fight the proposal to create a waste transfer and recycling unit near their homes.

They have put together a petition with 170 signatures from residents living in the 155 homes on the estate.

The group has already claimed a victory in its battle to block the plan, following a decision by members of Teesdale District Council to carry out a site visit.

During a heated debate at the council's offices on Wednesday, members said they were unhappy at the way Durham County Council, which is the planning authority for the proposed site, had failed to carry out a thorough consultation exercise involving local residents.

Teesdale council's role is to merely recommend refusal or approve the application by Premier Waste Management, before the county council makes its final decision on the plan.

Many residents are convinced that the county council has already made up its mind about the application and are calling for a meeting with Teesdale council to discuss the issue.

Tony Cooke, of the Oval, Stainton Grove, who is speaking on behalf of the residents, said: "I am a former council refuse officer, so I know the way councils run and how applications of this nature can be handled.

"This is about people, and moreover, children, who will have to put up with this on their doorstep.

"We will formally create a residents' action group and fight this, and we call on the district council to meet and talk to us about the plans."

The county council has defended itself and says that it consulted residents during a presentation day in June at the local community centre.

Stainton Grove ward councillor Robin Simpson, chairman of the development control committee, said: "Like residents, I am unhappy at the way the county council has dealt with this, but it would be very unusual for councillors to meet with an action group to discuss a proposal like this in these circumstances."