THE Government has decided not to hold a public inquiry into a controversial planning application to build a recycling centre near Worcester.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff said he was disappointed that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly, had decided not to "call in" Mercia Waste Management's application to build a centre in Woodbury Lane, Norton.

Mr Luff wrote to Ms Kelly requesting she look into the application, claiming residents felt the process had been rushed and they had not been properly consulted.

However, junior minister Yvette Cooper replied saying Ms Kelly only called in planning issues with "of more than local importance".

The application will now be considered by Worcestershire County Council in January.

**For full story see tomorrow's Worcester News