Residents in the Templeton area have hit out this week over a plan to site a commercial waste recycling facility in the countryside between the village and Cross Hands.

Waterloo Waste Management Ltd., of Pembroke Dock, are proposing a £1 million investment to create a commercial waste recycling facility on the site of the former World War II field hospital at Templeton Airfield.

There will be around 30 people employed at the site, 15 of which will be new jobs. However, local residents fear that the facility will be nothing more than a 'glorified scrapyard' and are concerned about the projected traffic movements along the proposed main access road, the unclassified C3027 which runs from Washfield Cross off the A4115.

"In 1993, LAS applied for a similar facility along the Templeton to Yerbeston road," explained Mr. Brian Birkinshaw, whose house, Washfield Farmhouse, Molleston, backs onto the proposed site.

"That application was rejected by South Pembrokeshire District Council because of the inadequacy of the road and the size of the development. The roads have not changed in that time."

Mr. Birkinshaw explained that an environmental impact study showed a projected 130 traffic movements a day to the site along the C3027, at least half of which would be vehicles over 1.5 tonnes.

"At present there are about six traffic movements along the road," said Mr. Birkinshaw.

"The road is just not suitable for this volume of traffic, even though Waterloo Waste have said that they will improve the access.

"The main entrance will be via Washfield Cross, but that crossroads is where children wait for school buses and it's dangerous enough as it is."

Diana Jones, a director of Waterloo Waste, told the Observer that the development was intended to process commercial and industrial non-hazardous waste, allowing for segregating and sorting for either recycling or re-use.

Waste delivered would be streamed with further processing such as stone crushing of demolition waste, card baling and wood chipping.

'End of Life' vehicles would be treated under strictly controlled conditions in line with the End of Life Vehicles directive.

Light scrap activities would also take place under strict controls and it was hoped that, once the facility was fully operational, the next stage would be kerb-side collections of recyclable waste and Ms. Jones felt that the facility would "help Pembrokeshire some way towards meeting recycling and waste reduction targets set by the recently adopted Landfill Directive.

However, while stressing that all the local residents were not against recycling, they were, Mr. Birkinshaw said, against a facility such as this in the open countryside.

"The proposal included at least one building 100 feet long and seven metres high to its fascia - that's not including the roof," he said. " We know that the facility will be operating 10 hours a day, which we believe will be seven days a week, and it will be lit up 24 hours a day.

"Without doubt, the 'end-of-life' vehicles will be stockpiled for processing, so what we will end up with will be nothing more than a glorified scrapyard. Surely there must be other sites they could use in less prominent locations.

"Using this site poses a number of questions which would not have to be answered at a more suitable, industrial location," agreed fellow campaigner, Mr. Michael Kettle.

"This is a major development in the open countryside - with the possibilities for expansion. In my view it will devastate the tourism industry in this particular area," he added.

"The applicants claim that noise from the site will be no more that that produced by the local agricultural industry, but with baling machines, compressors, shearing machines, JCBs and forklifts, we can't see it somehow," said Mr. Birkinshaw.

Ms. Jones said that a three-metre bund wall would be erected around the site, which along with the retention of existing mature trees and more planting would help screen the facility and reduce noise levels.

"The strict abeyance of all Environmental and Safety needs will be observed, with full compliance of appropriate Environmental Agency waste management and pollution control permits," she said. "There will be no disposal of any material at the facility, only processing of permitted materials, with any residues disposed of through licensed routes."

As a firm committed to recycling in the interests of the environment, Waterloo Waste was, she added, also committed to ensuring minimal disruption to the local environment and wildlife.

Some 60 campaigners attended a special meeting of Templeton Community Council, called to discuss the application on Thursday night, to voice their concerns.

After discussion, the council decided to recommend refusal of the development, expressing concern amongst other things, that it was out of accord with the Development Plan, would cause an increase in traffic, generate noise and dust, was an intrusion into the countryside, should be sited at an industrial site, would cause pollution and be harmful to plant and wildlife in the area.

Campaigners have placed petitions around the area and were in the process of collecting them in this week in time for today's (Friday's) deadline for observations on the application set by the planning authority, Pembrokeshire County Council.

Campaigners met with local MP, Mr. Nick Ainger, on Saturday to express their views and were delighted that he shared their concern over such a development in the open countryside.

As a result, Mr. Ainger has written to the National Assembly's Minister for the Environment, Sue Essex, asking her to call in the plan for the Assembly to determine.

Campaigners have also arranged a public meeting with Mr. Jed Davies, of the Environment Agency, to take place in Templeton Church Hall on Tuesday evening at 8 pm.

"I will spend my last breath on fighting this proposal because it will ruin the quality of life in this area," stressed Mr. Birkinshaw.