A WASTE incinerator project which has sparked protests from big business and villagers could soon be managed by the Waste Recycling Group (WRG).
WRG is finalising a contract with HLC as a corporate partner and the Portuguese waste company is preparing to take a back seat as the project develops.
The Resource Recovery Centre, as it is known, is earmarked for Wrexham Industrial Estate.
But at Wrexham council's Executive meeting, officers explained other sites were being considered as the WRG tries to ascertain whether the industrial estate offers the best practical environmental option and value for money.
'We are now a partner and have taken a lesser role within the project,' said HLC projects development manager Judith Harper.
'Now we have teamed up with WRG, they are taking the lead with the project.' A spokesman for the WRG said he could not comment while contract negotiations were ongoing.
A review of possible locations does not mean the disputed Owens Corning site on the industrial estate will not host the facility, however.
HLC says it has already carried out the economic and environmental tests on all the possible sites around Wrexham and says this one is the best.
Manufacturers on the estate, led by Kellogg's and Calypso and armed with a 45-page dossier of reasons to reject the plan, have shown no sign that their attitude has changed toward the RRC.
The food manufacturers are concerned the process of pyrolysis and gasification could release harmful emissions into their food at various process stages.
Other businesses are worried about potential effects on employees and the risk of smells, and residents of Isycoed, along with fellow campaigners from the Chester side of the border, are worried about smells and potential health risks.
Businesses have claimed to be withholding £23m of investment for their Wrexham sites until a final decision on the development is made.
