A MAJOR waste treatment plant could still be developed on waste ground at Courtauld Road, Basildon, with work starting by summer next year.

Essex County Council has confirmed it has scrapped plans approved in 2007 for a huge anaerobic digestor to deal with waste from as far away as Epping and Southend.

However, the county council confirmed yesterday it still has the money to develop new waste sites, despite Government-imposed cuts and it is seeking to employ two firms to develop facilities in Basildon.

County Hall has been told it should still have access to £100million of provisional funding for a new countywide waste strategy, involving two or three waste sites across Essex, which was promised under the Labour government.

It is preparing to rent Courtauld Road to two waste firms and it is tendering for the contracts. The county council still wants a scaled-down anaerobic digestor to compost black bag waste and also a separate plant to turn green and garden waste into compast and biogas, which can be converted into electricity.

Malcolm Buckley, Basildon councillor responsible for the environment, opposes a waste plant on the site, but feels it will be imposed.

He has previously pledged to negotiate with County Hall to ensure the impact of the plant is as minimal as possible. However, he said he has not been consulted about any changes.

Mr Buckley added: “I have not been given any formal information or the detail of plans. We don’t want anything there, but there is outline planning permission, so a further application was always expected.

“County Hall has kept the details to itself and I have not been consulted.”

The county council currently leases the site from Integra Developments and is in the process of splitting this into two separate leases so it can be let to the two different companies.

A county council spokeswoman said: “We are currently engaged in two separate procurements. The waste procurement is for the treatment of residual municipal waste. The bio-waste procurement is for the treatment of separately collected green and garden waste.

“Both procurements will be for the treatment of Essex and Southend waste. The site is simply being split into two so a portion of the site is available for use by the bidders involved in the two procurements, should they choose to use it.

“Should the Courtauld Road site be part of a successful contractor’s solution then that contractor will need to apply for revised planning permission.

“If Courtauld Road is utilised then construction work is not expected to start before summer 2012.”