CONTROVERSIAL plans to open a regional waste management centre in Basildon could move a step closer to reality today.

Essex County Council chiefs were today expected to thrash out an agreement to lease the Courtauld Road site from landowners Integra for the next 30 years.

If it successfully acquires the site, the county council expects to submit planning applications to Basildon Council for the facility, which will handle south Essex's rubbish for the next 25 years.

Should it be opened, the facility will deal with 350,000 tonnes of waste from across south Essex every year, increasing recycling and reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites.