A GROUP fighting plans to build a recycling centre near Worcester has threatened legal action if Worcestershire County Council refuses to order a study into the effect on the environment.

David Hallmark, of law firm Hallmarks in Worcester, wrote to the council's director of environmental services, John Hobbs, in January regarding Mercia Waste Management's application to build a plant in Woodbury Lane, Norton. It will be capable of handling 105,000 tonnes of waste from Worcestershire and Herefordshire annually.

The letter detailed 29 questions from the J7-Waste Action Group and threatened to "prepare for judicial proceedings" if the council insisted an environmental impact assessment was not required.

The group claims that by not responding the letter the council is withholding vital information.

Chairman Ken Munn said: "Many of our questions relate to the county council's decision to tell the applicant that there was no need to provide an environmental impact assessment even though we are talking about hundreds of tonnes of waste over the coming years."

The letter also expresses the group's concern that a comprehensive traffic impact assessment is not being done.

It highlights a "suspicion" the council has a "vested financial interest" in the plant, requesting details on its expenditure on exporting waste, saying the centre would reduce this. It refers to a article published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, which claims there are "health hazards" associated with hand-sorting materials.

The date the council's planning committee was due to consider the application has been deferred twice to allow for additional consultation responses from health chiefs.

The council said because the plant would be a holding site for recyclables, it does not come under the remit of requiring an assessment.

Mark Middleton, head of planning, economy and research said: "Public consultation on this planning application has been extensive and far in excess of legal requirements. All representations subsequently received up until the day the application goes to committee will be drawn to councillors' attention and taken into account.

"The committee will have all the relevant technical information and legal advice before them when it comes to make a decision."

Mercia Waste Management declined to comment.