DEVELOPERS planning to build an anaerobic digestion plant at Fletcher Bank Quarry in Ramsbottom have denied that it would mean the green belt suffering “death by a thousand cuts”.

Keith Owen, representing Peel Environmental and Marshalls Mono Ltd, told a public inquiry the proposed plant would not add significantly to urban sprawl and could not be built on a smaller scale.

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He was being questioned by opponents of the plans, which would see 45,000 tonnes of food waste brought to the plant every year to be converted into heat and electricity.

Questioned by borough council legal representative Eric Owen, who claimed future development would cause green belt land to suffer “death by a thousand cuts”, Keith Owen said: “I don’t think the plant is a precursor to larger industrial development.

“It would do very little to add to urban sprawl. This facility is a renewable energy facility for which there is a great deal of pull.

“If it could be done in a smaller way and over a smaller footprint it would be, but it can’t.”

Protesters have argued that the plant would leave the town smelling of rotten food waste and would bring an unfavourable number of trucks to the site along Ramsbottom’s roads.

Peel and Marshalls say the main purpose of the plant, which would be built and run by Tamar Energy, is to allow Marshalls to power its adjacent concrete manufacturing plant.

The firms have denied the development would cause problems for the road network or nearby residents, citing job creation as a positive aspect of the plans.

Keith Owen added: “I think there is a reasonable prospect of some employment for people in Ramsbottom, directly or indirectly.”

He also said that he struggled to see how other potential sites for the plant could be “seriously considered” as viable waste facilities, and denied that there was not sufficient waste in the area to service the plant.

The inquiry, at Bury Town Hall, is set to conclude next week, and Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, will make the final decision on whether the plant can be built.

Protest group RAWS (Ramsbottom Against Waste Site), which has undertaken an extensive poster campaign locally, has already made its representations to the public inquiry.

Cllr Ian Bevan, on behalf of RAWS, said that the plant would be visible for many miles, affecting not only neighbours but visitors too.

Planning inspector Ian Jenkins has identified that the main issues to be determined at his inquiry will include whether the development meets the special circumstances required to build in the green belt.

Another key question, as claimed by opponents, is whether the plant will generate excessive odours, affecting nearby householders.