After years of campaigning and protests residents who rallied against a waste plant being built in their village have lost the fight.

Last Wednesday the result of a public inquiry was announced and permission has been granted for a massive waste management centre at Rivenhall Airfield.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” said James Abbott, a Green party councillor who spearheaded a campaign against the proposal.

Essex County Council approved the application for the combined heat and power plant, on a 62.5-acre site in Sheepcotes Lane, Silver End, on April 24 last year.

The planning application, which was originally submitted in August 2008, was called in for public inquiry in May by the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears.

The application, from Gent Fairhead and Co, is for an integrated waste management facility and a host of other buildings and works.

At the two-week inquiry Golder Associates, planning agents for Gent Fairhead, said the facility was state of the art and the main building would be lowered into the ground to help reduce “nuisance emissions”.

Although the site would be capable of processing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste each year, Golder argued that HGV movements to and from the site would be capped to about 400 per day.

Campaigners against the proposal consistently argued that the plan was not suitable, and too big, for its rural location. It was claimed that recycling levels in Essex and the Braintree district, in particular, were increasing and the facility would requite waste from across the region to make it viable.

Mr Abbott, Braintree councillor for Bradwell, Silver End and Rivenhall, said: “It’s not good news.

“Clearly the Secretary of State lives nowhere near the site as he agrees with the report which says the application would have no impact on the freeflow of traffic. Everyone knows that traffic doesn’t flow freely on the A120 at the moment, without this.”

Chris Papworth, chairman of the Kelvedon and Feering Heritage Society, said: “We always knew victory was slightly unlikely but we still had to attempt to bring some common sense as it is such a bad place to site it.

“It’s disappointing, particularly if the A12 or A120 are blocked. HGVs are not supposed to use roads around the villages but if the roads are blocked, as they often are throughout the year, where else will they go?”

John Palombi, chairman of Witham and Countryside Society, said there were some positives to be taken from conditions imposed.

“The height of the chimney stack has been capped at 35m which is good news if they feel they won’t be able to use it and they have to submit another application,” he said.

DAVID V GOLIATH

From the outset there was huge opposition against a waste management facility in rural mid Essex.

In January last year it emerged that as part of a public consultation only one person out of more than 800 wrote to Essex County Council in support of the plan.

When it went to a public inquiry it was always billed of something of a David versus Goliath battle.

Residents teamed up with heritage and countryside societies and formed the Community Group. They were eventually backed up by Braintree Council.

The Community Group fundraised to meet the £11,000 costs of the barrister they hired to fight their case.

In comparison County Hall spent about £90,000 defending why they approved the plan.

Braintree Council spent about £78,000 supporting the Community Group but campaigners always knew they were up against it.

Mr Abbott said: “Gent Fairhead would’ve probably spent similar to the county council and there was a bank of lawyers, solicitors and QCs sitting opposite us, their resources were far greater.”