BASILDON has cemented its opposition to a huge waste plant at Pitsea.

Tory council chiefs revealed last night they will campaign against the building of a mechanical biological treatment plant and recycling complex at Courtauld Road and another in north Essex.

Instead they want a single plant built at Sandon, near Chelmsford, for all Essex waste.

Councillors will vote over a motion at their full council meeting next Thursday to tell fellow Tories at Essex County Council they believe the only acceptable solution is for the single plant, ruling out the use of Courtauld Road.

However the county council, responsible for waste disposal, insists it cannot risk building a single plant and has voted for one at Basildon, which would take in rubbish from as far away as Brentwood, Epping Forest and Southend, and another in Rivenhall, near Braintree, after deciding three smaller plants were also not viable.

Published Thursday, December 8, 2005