PLANS to build a waste composting site on the doorstep of residents near Selby have been put under the microscope by county councillors.

A new report into the scheme to build a recycling centre near Thorpe Willoughby has been rubbished by campaigners.

Bosses at Yorwaste jointly owned by the county council and City of York Council want to run a trial in composting household refuse at Gateforth Farm, a former mushroom farm by the Selby bypass.

Residents have mounted a huge campaign against the proposal and have now been backed by Labour county councillor Graham Gatman, who called on other councillors to block the plan.

He said: "I am trying to get the alarm bells ringing and saying you are going against people's wishes.

"If they went to Thorpe Willoughby they can see the signs in everyone's windows opposing it. I hope they take on board what I have said and look for another more suitable area."

Villagers fear the trial will lead to stomach-churning smells and increases in vermin, biological particles in the air and noise.

They have been backed by Selby MP John Grogan and district council planners, and environmental health chiefs.

Coun Gatman also criticised an independent report commissioned by Yorwaste, saying the company was "not listening."

He said: "They should find another site which is suitable. Why do they keep coming back to a site where everybody in the village and surrounding area is against it?"

The report by composting experts ADAS UK revealed the company will now enclose the entire process and reduce the amount of time waste is stored before it is processed from five days to two.

It also claimed the site would have a "negligible impact" on local residents.

But Coun Gatman said: "There own investigations show that there are flaws and the Environment Agency say they have concerns. If they want a fight we will fight them. They are not listening to people."

Thorpe Willoughby Parish Council vice chairman Mall Doyle said the report's claims were "rubbish" and promised to continue the village's fight against the plans.

He said: "By Yorwaste's own admission it will have a negative impact on the environment of Thorpe Willoughby, and it will therefore result in health and lifestyle issues and devalue village properties.

"That is too important to be steamrollered through by a council-owned company. I would have expected a council-owned body to have behaved with more respect for the residents of the community."