A PUBLIC display of plans for a landfill site have not allayed residents fears Crumps Farm in Little Canfield has been the subject of a public consultation over the last two weeks, as local villagers had the opportunity to browse future plans for the lan

A PUBLIC display of plans for a landfill site have not allayed residents' fears Crumps Farm in Little Canfield has been the subject of a public consultation over the last two weeks, as local villagers had the opportunity to browse future plans for the landfill site.

Edwards Waste Management held an open day on July 19 at Little Canfield Village Hall to outline future plans for the site and to get public feedback on any proposals.

Consultant Gavin Clark said: "The aim was to obtain as many suggestions and ideas as possible from local people about the proposed development on the site.

"We want to restore it to local amenity use, biodiversity use and agriculture by the final disposal of pre-treated household, commercial and industrial waste."

Planning permission already exists for the phased extraction of London clay and aggregates, on the condition that agriculture and woodland is restored.

But the waste management team is proposing to submit an application to Essex County Council which would allow them to build an area for composting and recycling of green waste over the next five years, reducing the amount of rubbish going to landfill by 40 per cent.

But the parish council is still concerned about the impact of smells and noise on its quiet village.

Mr Clark said: "The composting process would be entirely contained within the facility building to minimise issues arising from odour, noise and emissions. It will help to support waste initiatives by treating local waste locally."

The lack of publicity about the open day, and the proposals, have been heavily criticised by the parish council which believes that they were not given enough notice of any consultations, saying they are arranged "on too short notice". Parish clerk Rosemary Shelly said: "These consultations have been going on for some years now. Originally the site only had a planning agreement until 2006, now we are being told it could be there until 2040.

"We are worried about the impact of more composting as that is what causes the smell. It is only ok if the wind is going in the right direction."

What do you think? E-mail us at nick.thompson @archant.co.uk or write to us at 2 Angel Lane, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1AQ.