A CAMPAIGNER has voiced his concerns about plans to build a multi-million pound Mechanical Biological Treatment plant (MBT) on the Northacre Industrial Park in Westbury.

David Levy is on the executive of the UK Without Incineration Network (UK WIN) and is chairman of The Air That We Breathe Group (TATWBG), and he sits on the liaison committee for Lafarge Cement Works.

He believes it would be better if the £15m plant were built on the Lafarge site, the company it would provide fuel for.

Currently the MBT is due to be built on the Northacre Industrial Park where it would be near to Westbury Dairies and local residents.

Mr Levy, who lives in Chapmanslade, has warned the quality of Westbury Dairies' products may suffer due to emissions from the MBT.

He said: "It's a concern that there's huge intake pipes at the site and any emissions that come out of the plant could be sucked in and it could affect the quality of the product.

"The common sense approach is to set the MBT plant at Lafarge."

Mr Levy also said he thought it unwise to pursue with the building of the plant under current builders Ensorgia, as neither he, Wiltshire Friends of the Earth representative Stephen Eades, or West Wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison's advisor Bob Munden had witnessed an Ensorgia plant in operation.

Mr Levy said: "Here we have Hills and Wiltshire County Council spending £15m without anyone going to verify it.

"We asked to go and see a plant so we could see it in operation.

"We had concerns about the amount of plastics in it, chlorine being one of the major causes of dioxins.

"Ensorgia promised us we can visit and since that time they have gone schtum and haven't lived up to their promises."

MP Dr Andrew Murrison has signalled his objection to plans to build the plant at the Northacre site.

Dr Murrison said: "Having the MBT plant next to Lafarge screams out as the obvious, environmentally sensitive solution that will have the minimum impact on residents.

"However, my constituents would have to bear the brunt of the wrongly located MBT plant and the associated heavy traffic."

But Alan Pardoe, who is Group Chairman of Hills Minerals and Waste Ltd, the company that will use the MBT, said in a statement: "We have carried out comprehensive impact assessments and firmly believe that the Northacre site is the right one.

"Many other sites were discussed and discounted before it became obvious that this was the best option environmentally.

"The reality is that there would be just one vehicle delivering refuse-derived fuel four times a day on approved routes through the trading estate between the MBT and the cement works."

Wiltshire County Council's regulatory committee will meet on July 30 at 10.30am to decide on the application.