FEELINGS ran high at last Thursday's public meeting in the Council Chambers concerning the application for the recyling of domestic and industrial waste at the Trevol Business Park.

Some 150 people listened to Roger Gazzard of CES (County Environmental Services Ltd) explaining what the application consists of. It is for a civic amenity centre, a transfer station, (for the collection and temporary storage of domestic refuse), and a storage centre for goods to be recycled by charities.

Public concern was expressed over the whole project which, said many of those who raised questions at the end, seemed inappropriate for a business park.

It was confirmed that the unit would be at the north-east corner of the business park, at the back of the site and that the amenity centre would deal with the recycling of garden waste and unwanted household rubbish. This would be open to the public between 8.00am and 6.30pm in the summer and 8.3am to 4.30pm in the winter, on six days a week, closed on Sundays and on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

The transfer station would be in a roofed area and would be in operation from 8.00am to 5.00pm Mondays to Thursdays. Domestic rubbish from the weekly refuse collections in the town and the Rame Peninsula would be stored for a maximum of 48 hours and would then be transferred to larger, 32 ton lorries, to be transported elsewhere. A third, covered, area would be reserved for the collection and storage of recycled materials for local charities.

Mr Gazzard said that they anticipated that around 1,000 tons of waste would be dealt with a year, of which 600 tons would be destined for the tip, 300 tons would be green waste and 100 tons would be recyclable. This would include glass, metal, green waste, paper, card, oil and other goods, such as furniture and electrical goods. He confirmed that there would also be an asbestos tip, mainly for use by builders.

He said that an estimated number of 120 cars would visit the site each week to deposit garden waste and recyclable rubbish and that some six 32 ton waste lorries would visit the site on six days of each week to remove the tip material, plus three per week to take away material from the amenity site. He said that the rubbish destined for the tip would not be allowed to decompose on site and confirmed that the planning application made provision for the disposal of liquid waste via a run-off system into drainage pipes connecting with the mains sewerage pipes.

Residents of Lamorna Park say that this facility will be within 75 yards of their properties.

It was pointed out that rubbish for the tip would be up to a week old by the time it arrived at the transfer station, that rats and insects would cause a health hazard, and that it would be impossible to stop waste material flying about, or to control the smell from decomposing waste.

In addition, HMS Raleigh already has a problem with seagulls droppings on the parade ground and has permission to cull the birds and the waste would attract them in greater numbers.

Three owners of businesses on the estate spoke about the detrimental effect which the operation would cause. David Robinson, of Southern Photo Print said that the operation would be incompatible with his business. 'I cannot have it in a dusty environment,' he said, pointing out that he had recently spent money on additional equipment and had envisaged employing three full-timers as a result. 'If that place starts up, I'm moving and the jobs will go with me,' he said.

'I've been there eight years,' said company secretary of Iceberg, Andrew Wiseman. 'It's been a long hard fight to keep the vermin down.' He said that he thought the idea of sharing the business park with a waste disposal unit was 'fundamentally unsound'.

A questioner asked Cornwall County representative David Owens whether, had it been the other way round, they would have accepted an application for a food processing plant to be located 'within 50 yards of a transfer station.'

'Nowhere is it written what distances there should be between this sort of activity and food processing,' he replied, adding that they were seeking the views of Caradon's environmental department.

The proprietor of Dental and Medical Services, Roger Smith, which supplies specialist equipment to the health professions said that he needed 'a clinical environment' in which to operate. 'We want jobs, not rubbish,' he said. 'I was encouraged by Caradon to go there because of the kind of business it is.' He said that it was totally unsuitable for dustcarts and larger rubbish lorries to be using the same entrance as his business clients.

It was pointed out that, in the past, Antony Estates had turned down businesses dealing in batteries or car tyres which had wanted to start up on the business park and that the present application seemed incompatible with this policy.

Land agent Mr Christie, who was in the audience, said that Antony Estates had been approached by CES and were still considering the application.

Mr Gazzard said that, following a survey of the area, the site had been identified as the only possible one for Torpoint. Questioners asked why, since the stated policy of CES was to transport collected dustbin waste towards the nearest permanent tip, they were considering bringing waste from the Rame Peninsula back into Torpoint. Questions were raised about the ability of the local road system to take this sort of traffic and a site at Trerulefoot was suggested as a more viable alternative.

Mr Owens said that Torpoint, Saltash and Penzance were the only towns in Cornwall which did not have their own civic amenities service. 'At the end of the day,' he added, 'the decision will be made by elected members of Cornwall County Council'. He said that April 21 would be the first date on which the application would be considered and that, 'given the strength of public interest', the planning committee might request a site meeting, in which case they would give 'plenty of notification' of the date.

A copy of the planned development is available for consultation at the town clerk's office in York Road.

Residents wishing to put their views should write to: Mr D H Pollard, Planning Director, County Planning Directorate, Cornwall County Council, County Hall, Truro TR1 3AY.

Lamorna Park have formed an organisation, RATS (Residents Against the Transfer Station), to fight the application.