PLANS to create a £10million road serving the controversial East Lancashire Waste Technology Park are to go before councillors yet again.

Plans for the link road between Whinney Hill tip and the new waste plant at the former Huncoat Power Station have been re-submitted as the county council proceeds full steam ahead, despite opposition from landowners.

Although the county is due to defend its decision to impose compulsory purchase orders on power station landowners Omega Atlantic before a planning inspector within weeks, plans to create the link road serving the plant are proceeding as normal.

Adding to the county’s problems, Omega Atlantic has had confirm-ation that an alternative plan would have gained planning permission, as part of their bid to prove the land is worth £9million more than the £750,000 offered by LCC.

In spite of these set backs a new link road application will go before Hyndburn Borough Council next week. It was granted planning permission earlier this year but a change of design to the new railway bridge has affected the entire layout of the road.

The £10million road through the green belt will access the two waste sites from a new junction at Griffin roundabout, Burnley Road.

Neil Wallace, senior county planning officer, waste and natural resources, said: “This new length of road will bring local traffic relief to the residential streets in the village, particularly from the heavy goods vehicles that use the landfill and quarry, and from the effects of other industrial users, including the council’s own waste technology park on the power station site.

“Discussions with statutory undertakers like Network Rail to firm up those designs has identified an improvement to the new railway bridge and the line of its approach roads between the two proposed new roundabouts on Altham Lane.

“This improvement proposes moving the route of the new road by a matter of metres, but will improve the operational safety of the rail network.”

Huncoat councillor Paul Gott said he hoped the new road would relieve traffic but feared it could attract more development.

He said: “It seems strange to me that plans are being changed at the eleventh hour.

“Additionally, if they had chosen an industrial estate which had sufficient access roads to begin with, they wouldn’t have these problems.”

The new application will be heard by HBC’s planning committee on Wednesday.