Residents from Oxford Road, near the Porte Marsh Industrial Estate, are celebrating the refusal of plans to build a concrete plant on the site (16925/2)GAZETTE & HERALD: ECSTATIC protesters are celebrating after plans for a controversial concrete batching plant on Calne's Porte Marsh Industrial Estate were unanimously refused.

The decision was made at North Wiltshire District Council's planning committee on Wednesday.

However, residents still have a fight on their hands as this week Bristol-based agents Tetlow King, acting on behalf of the applicants Hopkins Developments, lodged a planning appeal against the refusal.

More than 30 residents turned up to last week's meeting to voice their concerns over the potential detrimental effect that dust emissions from the processing plant would have on their own health, as well as their children's.

St Edmund's and St Dunstan primary schools are both situated in close proximity to the site.

Caroline Ramsey, who spoke at the meeting and lives in nearby Oxford Road, said she was happy with the decision, but feared there could be an appeal. She said: "I am very pleased, but I am also a bit apprehensive, because I know they're going to appeal, so I think we still have a lot of work to do."

Mrs Ramsey added that, if the plant had been approved, it would have been difficult to control.

She said: "Once permission is granted for a plant of this size, how do you know if it's growing? It just slowly creeps up."

William Street resident, Fred Curd, said that he was delighted the plans had been refused.

"They have certainly taken the schools into consideration and the hotel on the main road. Everyone seemed very pleased with the decision and everybody came out smiling, so I think we should win the day," he said.

Derek Quinn, of Oxford Street, added his own delight.

He said: "I am very pleased because I think it will stop an increase in pollution in this end of town, which we have got too much of already."

Members of Calne Town Council, who have unanimously opposed the factory in the past, were present at the meeting. Deputy mayor Colin Viner was applauded by members of the public after he spoke against the plant.

Coun Viner had visited a similar plant at Wincanton earlier in the week, producing photos that questioned how effectively dust could be minimised.

He said that businesses up to 200 yards away had sand and dust carpeting their floors. "Every vehicle that left that site left with a plume of dust behind it and on a windy day that could travel up to half a mile away," he said.

"It could affect some of the businesses to such an extent that it forces them to close."

Wiltshire county councillor John Thomson, who formerly owned a stoneworks, said that stopping dust emissions is impossible. He said: "Cement dust will get absolutely everywhere. It's impossible to contain it."

Calne town councillor Tom Briggs echoed Coun Thomson's view.

He said: "This is close to schools, hotels, residential sites and, when, or if, this goes through we will have the dust and the pollution."

Concern was also expressed about the volume of traffic the plant would have generated, with up to 40 heavy goods vehicles arriving each day. The lorries would be coming from quarries in Avonmouth and Somerset.

Coun Tony Trotman said: "I was very cynical about the number of vehicles because if the plant was successful then you could see a lot more vehicle movements. Every successful business increases in its movements and that would be hard to control by our officers."

Coun Christine Crisp added that drivers could not be trusted to stick to the main roads. She said: "There's an awful lot of heavy traffic moving around Calne and the drivers don't always follow the approved routes."