The prospect of a waste incinerator on their doorstep has got Wickford councillors hot under the collar.

They are furious Essex County Council approved plans to site one of the controversial incinerators in Courtauld Road, Basildon - although the authority has stressed this does not mean there will be one.

At the same time the county rejected similar proposals for sites in Rayleigh, and gave the green light to an incinerator on green belt land in Pitsea - if the applicants can put forward a good enough case.

Malcolm Buckley (Con, Wickford South) said: "The Courtauld Road site would inevitably have an impact on Wickford's environment. If the wind blows south or south-west it will blow over the town.

"While I recognise the fumes are supposed to be clean many of us are not convinced about this."

Mr Buckley also had a warning for Rayleigh residents celebrating after a proposal for a similar incinerator in their town was rejected.

He said: "With a prevailing south-easterly wind this would take fumes over Rayleigh, so perhaps they should bear that in mind."

Wickford's Tory county councillor Iris Pummell said the decision on whether or not to built the incinerator largely depended on the amount of waste being recycled in the county over the next few years.

She said: "The problem is we're running out of space to put all the rubbish. Hopefully they won't be needed but I suppose the council is just being realistic. Perhaps if we didn't take so much waste from London it wouldn't be a problem."

Mrs Pummell said she considered Courtauld Road to be an inappropriate site for the development, should it go ahead.

She added: "This is a built-up area, whereas Pitsea is right on the Thames."

A county council spokesman said: "It was always the case that we would identify sites."

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