A PLANNING application that has been under development for more than a year - and would see a recycling plant built on an industrial park which has been the centre of much local controversy - is going out for public consultation.

Thurrock Council has this week advertised the plans put forward by Lowes Metal & Recycling for the use of land for the purpose of metal recycling on part of Stanhope Industrial Park.

The site, which already houses businesses involved in construction and demolition, can only be approached through Wharf Road, a narrow street through a residential area in Stanford-le-Hope.

Problems with the site have already been highlighted in the application put forward by Lowes.

Their agent says: "Generally, one can describe the estate as being a location for 'bad neighbour' type uses with an array of vehicle repair operations, open-air storage, a vehicle de-commissioning unit, demolition contractors and waste recycling yard, a builders yard and coachworks."

Residents have spent years battling a number of planning applications at Stanhope because of the problems of large vehicles causing damage to their homes, the street and putting lives at risk.

A significant number of complaints relate to the use of Wharf Road by large vehicles connected with the Squibb demolition business.

The plan for the site put forward by Lowes Metal, who have operated in Thurrock since 1924, is a second choice by the firm, who saw an application for a similar site in Grays thrown out by council planners.

Lowes are currently based in Manor Road, Grays, on a long-established yard used for the recycling of metal products including the dismantling of motor vehicles.

The current operation is based within a predominantly residential area, directly opposite Thameside Primary School, which has recently doubled in size, and adjacent to a residential estate with a further housing scheme proposed in the immediate locality.

For the immediate future the existing site will continue in operation but Lowes say they recognise the "changing landscape, requirements and expectations the 21st Century" and has been seeking an alternative site to relocate the majority of the current activities.

First choice for Lowes was a site at Bretts Farm on Marshfoot Road, Grays, which is in the grreen belt and support was not forthcoming from Thurrock Council.

So now the hope is to locate in Stanford-le-Hope.

The proposal is to relocate a significant part of the existing business to a purpose-built site. The business deals only in metal. The majority of metal arrives at the site within a skip.

The company has 120 skips which are leased out to various commercial operations within Thurrock and neighbouring districts.

These skips are then collected when full, with between 10 and 15 full skips arriving each day.

The company runs a fleet of four trucks for this purpose, although not all would be based at the proposed site as the existing operation in Grays would continue for the immediate future.

Lowes predicts a maximum of 30 vehicles movements in total arriving and departing from the site each day. No articulated vehicles are involved.

All metal is sorted on site and where necessary is processed by cutting or crushed. It is then sorted and shipped abroad via Tilbury for pre-processing.

The business does include the recycling of vehicles, although this accounts for no more than 10% of the business. In this respect, the vehicles are de-commissioned by a specialist company, FBS, who are currently based at the western end of Stanhope Industrial Park.

Thurrock Council is inviting comment on the proposal, which can be read in full by clicking the 'additional info' link below.