COUNTY councillors have given their blessing to a building to handle waste electronic and electrical equipment next to the Cleanaway incineration plant in Bridges Road, Ellesmere Port.

A plan for the steel-clad building, measuring 60m by 40m and 9.5m high, has been put forward by Cleanaway.

The aim is to use it as a recycling centre for electrical equipment, fluorescent lamps, computers and telecoms equipment.

According to a report from county planning officer Alan Thornley considered by Cheshire's development regulatory committee at its last meeting, the equipment would be sorted on arrival at the site and dismantled for recycling or re-use.

The centre would handle 10,000 tonnes of material a year, working a five-days-a-week pattern.

Also on the 1.3-hectare site would be a weighbridge, an internal road system and security fencing.

It is estimated the scheme would generate between 20 and 40 vehicles a day, plus staff cars.

Cleanaway has offered to pay a sum to the Mersey Forest to be used for land acquisition or tree-planting elsewhere in the borough in lieu of on-site landscaping.

The site is allocated for industrial use within the borough's Local Plan.

The manager of nearby BP Lubes sent a letter of objection to the plan on the grounds that the extra traffic it would generate would lead to highways problems in the area.

However, the county engineer has raised no objections, nor has the Health & Safety Executive or the Environment Agency.

The views of the borough council are being awaited.

Members of the regulatory committee gave the scheme their approval after considering the advice of the planning officer, who said: 'All activities would take place within the building and, as such, the environmental impacts of the proposal are minimal.

'It is considered appropriate to grant planning permission.'

Approval was granted subject to the legal agreement between Cleanaway and the Mersey Forest, and contaminated land-site investigation work being carried out.