CONTROVERSIAL proposals to build a cutting edge "green" power station in a national park look set to win the backing of planners.

Plans for the £1.2m station at South View Farm in Yatts, near Pickering, have split the local community.

Waste-to-energy company Bioflame Ltd is behind the proposals.

It has applied to the North York Moors National Park Authority for permission to build a 600-kilowatt biomass waste energy generator.

It would burn waste left over from composting, forestry thinnings and organic plant matter to generate electricity.

Pickering-based Bioflame leads the world in green "biomass" technology. It has already supplied equipment to coffee mills in Costa Rica keen to stop using rainforest wood as a fuel.

The company's burners can use a wide range of waste, including straw, chicken litter, coppiced willow crops, and husks from coffee and rice crop

If the North Yorkshire project is successful it hopes farmers may be encouraged to build their own mini-power stations using waste to generate power for the National Grid.

Last month more than 100 people packed into Newton upon Rawcliffe village hall to hear from company director Victor Buchanan, who got the idea for a biomass generator when he was having his car serviced.

Objections have been sent to the national park authority by representatives from Pickering junior and infant schools, farmers and local residents.

But planners have recommended that the proposals should be approved following the results of further consultation with the Environment Agency.

If permission is granted, Bioflame will have to apply for an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) permit from the agency before the station can operate.

Planning officer, Ailsa Manners said: "Whilst the concerns of the objectors are recognised, officers are confident that all the asso- ciated sources for pollution and outputs are covered by the licensing regime."

The planning committee will discuss the proposal on Thursday at the national park office in Helmsley.