PROTESTERS against an indoor composting plant in Tormarton have heralded a victory as one set of plans for the factory were withdrawn.

Campaigners mounted a bitter battle with South Gloucestershire Council’s waste contractors SITA UK when plans for the in-vessel compostor on the A46, next to junction 19 of the M4, were first submitted last year.

Locals from the nearby village of Tormarton said they would be overcome by smells, noise and a huge increase in lorries if the first set of plans were given the green light.

However, SITA UK announced it has withdrawn the plans and will resubmit a new planning application for the same site later this autumn.

Gareth Phillips, planning manager for SITA South, said: "It is normal that these kinds of applications take time, but we wish to present the most up to date information possible to the council and so have taken the decision to resubmit it.

"We believe that the new application will explain further why this brownfield site is a suitable location for our proposals and concisely present the case for this much-needed facility."

SITA said withdrawing the plans more than 12 months after they were first submitted would allow for additional information from the Highways Agency and the Environment Agency to be included in the application.

Cllr Sue Hope (Lib Dem, Cotswold Edge) said: "I welcome the withdrawal of this application, something that my colleagues and I have been advocating for many months, and wait to see the new plans."

The revised application will again call for planning permission on the former Highways Agency training depot for an in-vessel composting plant capable of recycling 30,000 tonnes of food and garden waste from South Gloucestershire households.

It would be the only such facility in the district to take waste from South Gloucestershire and would significantly increase the recycling rate and ensure the area is more self-sufficient in handling its waste.