CAMPAIGNERS fighting to stop plans to build a waste transfer site in Middlewich are set to stage a last-ditch protest in front of members of the planning board next week.

Cheshire East Council’s plans to build a waste transfer facility in Cledford Lane were first announced in December last year and will finally be voted on by Cheshire East Council’s Strategic Planning Board on Wednesday, August 26.

A group of campaigners, led by Middlewich town councillor David Latham, staged a protest at the proposed site in Cledford Lane earlier this month and are now planning to stage another protest at the planning meeting next week.

Cllr Latham will lead the protest outside the meeting from 10am and believes that showing a ‘strength of feeling’ among residents will put the board members under pressure to refuse the application.

Cllr Latham said: “Visibly showing a protest outside the plant and taking it to the planning meeting is really important because all of the borough councillors will be at the meeting and need to know the feeling of the residents of Middlewich.

“I think it’s quite clear that no one in Middlewich wants it and Cheshire East Council have tried hard to go under the radar and sneak it through and I think a decent turn-out of people would show the board members the strength of feeling.

“I’m hopeful that showing the strength of feeling will have a persuasion on the board. If there’s a decent amount of people in the gallery sitting there silently but holding up their signs it would be hard to ignore.

“If there were two dozen people there at the gipsy site meeting it would have been really difficult to vote for it. It would put them under so much pressure.”

The borough council refused to indicate the venue of the meeting until a week before.

The information was not available at the time the Guardian went to press, but should be available at cheshireeast.gov.uk from Wednesday, August 19.

For more information about the protest contact Cllr Latham on 07867912857.