A DECISION on the proposed site of an anaerobic digestion plant in Ramsbottom, which has sparked a wave of local opposition, has been delayed until November.

The proposals had been due to come before Bury Council’s planning committee on Tuesday.

But the council said that, due to the complexity of the application and because of the number of responses to the plans, extra time is required to consider it.

However, an application from Peel Holdings to import 950,000 cubic metres of waste at Fletcher Bank Quarry in Manchester Road will be heard by the planning committee on Tuesday.

Waste generated from the existing quarry at Fletcher Bank, from construction, demolition and excavation, would be deposited there.

The application seeks to gain permission to increase the amount of waste being brought to the site. The void would be infilled at a rate of 100,000 cubic metres per year, would be completed by 2036 and restored to grassland and woodland by 2038.

A Bury Council spokesman said: “The infilling application is ready to go before the planning committee next week. It is a relatively straightforward process, in that it asks for a continuation of a landfill scheme that is already in operation.

“However, the application for an anaerobic digestion plant is far more complex in terms of its implications.

“It has attracted 828 responses, and we need to ensure that full and comprehensive answers are found to all the questions it raises.”

The decision to deal with the two applications separately has been met with criticism.

Ramsbottom Cllr Ian Bevan said: “I think they should deal with them together. There are a lot of similar issues about dust, dirt and traffic.

“I think they are trying to sneak this through because this is the application that will make Peel the money, and they have publicised it to a minimum.”

Peel say they have publicised the two applications and made no secret of them, and that there is nothing sinister about the timing. They were previously granted planning permission by Bury Council in 2006 to extend the quarry, on condition that it would be completed by 2036.

A planning report on the proposals states the development “would not have an unacceptable impact” on residents.

The report says: “The proposals differ in so far as the scheme would result in a greater amount of inert waste being brought to the site.

“Furthermore, the nature of the landfilling would be temporary and the restoration would maintain the openness and character of the site within the green belt.”

However 544 people have formally opposed the plans, and Cllr Bevan says it would have a detrimental impact on the area.

He added: “I constantly receive complaints from residents about lorries driving fast through our villages, showering the roads and pavements with dirt. This shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

The proposals are now expected to be heard on November 12.