Campaigners have asked minister to call in plans for Gent Fairhead waste plant at Rivenhall Airfield

Gent Fairhead was given planning permission to build a facility at Rivenhall Airfield in 2009 but it now has less than a month until it expires.

In January, the company made a Section 73 “variation” application which included changes to the layout of the plant.

Some of the 370 new documents relate to how much water will be pumped in and out of the River Blackwater.

Witham county councillor James Abbott, said: “We are well used to ‘goalpost moving’ on this site over its very long planning history.

“This latest change in respect of the water the plant would use is yet another such attempted move – and a big one.

“For a decade now, Gent Fairhead has repeatedly assured the local community and the authorities that it would use a ‘Closed Loop’ water system that would rely on only minimal top ups from the river during the winter, and no discharges at all.

“Yet now, just when apparently the applicant says he is to start construction, we get a completely different story without any clear explanation as to why.”

The documents say that contrary to the original designs, the Blackwater will become the “primary source for industrial water”, with effluent water going back into the river.

The consultation period ended on February 4, with some documents submitted just days before the deadline.

Mr Abbott said: “The facility would have a water turnover of thousands of tonnes per day and would operate continuously.

“Not only is this an issue for the ecology of the River Blackwater and communities along the river, it is of wider significance as Essex is the driest county in the UK.”

Mr Abbott said he has now written to communities minister Greg Clark.

He said: “A fresh and independent public inquiry would allow all these matters to be aired in the open and for all concerned to be able to exercise their right to see the actual final plans from Gent Fairhead instead of what is now becoming ‘planning creep’.

“An inquiry would require the applicant to present his full and final plans in a clear and concise way - and for those plans to be judged against up to date policies.”

Gent Fairhead was asked to comment but did not reply.