AN APPEAL to allow two 10 metre-high chimneys connected to biomass boilers to be built at the site of a waste site with a chequered history of fire has been met with disapproval by councillors who already gave it the thumbs down.

Members of Stratton St Margaret Parish Council's Planning and Highways Committee met on Tuesday evening to discuss a planning appeal currently lodged with Swindon Borough Council over the proposal for the Marshgate Waste Transfer Station.

The application from Bromview Ltd was submitted in February, before the borough council rejected the plans at the end of June. The developer lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate on September 21, leading members of the parish council to once again voice their anger at the plans.

Expressing his disapproval of the appeal during the meeting, councillor Tim Page said: "I think it would be absolutely abhorrent to allow this proposal, we all know the history of this site."

Deputy parish clerk Georgina Morgan-Denn told the meeting that the developers had been invited to attend the meeting to discuss the proposal with councillors, but they had not responded.

Committee chairman Stuart Leach told members he had visited the site earlier in the day, and described seeing an “underused site” through the gates. “What is unclear is whether they are going to be bringing things in to burn off, or whether they are going to be burning waste from a current operation at the site,” he said.

The application previously attracted nine letters of objection from residents within the parish, citing concerns over air quality, health, house prices, and the visual impact of the chimneys. A petition signed by 18 residents from Bridge End Road opposing the plan was also submitted to the borough council.

But the application also attracted two letters of support, one of which claimed the proposal would lead to an increase in local employment.

Members of the committee discussed a report drawn up by Swindon Borough Council planning officer Rhian Morris which recommending the plan’s refusal in June, which concluded that the applicant had provided insufficient information on the application for the council to “adequately address” the proposal.

“The local planning authority considers that it has insufficient information to properly assess the proposed chimneys and the impact arising therefrom,” the report states. “No justification has been provided to demonstrate why the chimneys are required to be of the proposed height, as inadequate details of the associated biomass plant and equipment has been provided.

“The local planning authority is unable to determine whether the proposal will have an acceptable impact upon the amenity of the local area.”

Members of the parish council voted unanimously to oppose the appeal. The borough council has until October 20 to respond to the Planning Inspectorate.