COUNCILS have united to object to plans to create a landfill site dealing with 500,000 tonnes of rubbish.

Basildon Council, Rayleigh Town Council and Rawreth Parish Council have each hit out at plans for a giant plant at Dollymans Farm, off Doublegate Lane, Rawreth.

It is expected to specialise in construction waste, as Essex County Council and Southend Council were asked to prepare a new plan for waste disposal up to 2032.

There is currently an unfilled hollow at the farm left behind when earth was removed for the construction of the A130, which opened in 2002.

Campaigners expressed fears that the plant could open up the borders of Rayleigh and Wickford.

The councils have added their names to the growing list of those objecting to the proposals, while a public consultation is being carried out until Thursday, February 16. A decision is expected to be made by a government planning inspector in May.

If the waste document is passed, a planning application will still need to approved by Essex County Council.

Richard Moore, Tory councillor responsible for planning, said: “Basildon Council strongly objects to the planning inspector’s proposal to create a new landfill site at Dollyman’s Farm, near Wickford, and it intends to submit an objection to the consultation to that effect. However, if the inspector is minded to take a different view on the site’s appropriateness, the council is seeking changes to the Waste Local Plan to prevent HGV traffic passing through Wickford and Shotgate, improve natural screening and conserve the local historical monuments that are nearby.”

Last year, Southend Council and Essex County Council prepared a plan with 18 sites allocated for waste disposal in south Essex - but decided not to include Dollymans Farm. Concerns were later raised about a lack of capacity for disposing of construction waste from 2026 to 2032, prompting the site to be included.

David Harrison, Wickford Independents councillor for Wickford Park, has urged those objecting to the scheme to contribute to the consultation.

He said: “It is a crucial time really because it will be very difficult should it go to the planning stage. This is the best time to get heard.”

For more information, visit essex.gov.uk/Environment%20Planning/Planning/Minerals-Waste-Planning-Team/Planning-Policy/Pages/Replacement-Waste-Local-Plan.aspx