PUBLIC consultation starts this week over an application for an environmental permit to run a controversial waste-to-energy incinerator in Keighley.

Endless Energy Ltd has applied to the Environment Agency (EA) for the permit, to operate the proposed plant alongside the Aire Valley trunk road at Marley.

The consultation begins on Thursday (Nov 1) and will continue until December 13.

Interested groups and individuals are being urged to give their views.

Application documents will be available to view online, from Thursday, at consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/bd21-4lw-endless-energy-limited.

They will also be accessible by appointment at the EA offices at Lateral, 8 City Walk, Leeds LS11 9AT.

People should call 03708 506 506 to arrange an appointment, between 9.30am and 4.30pm weekdays.

And a public drop-in session is being held, at Victoria Hall, Keighley, on November 13, between 2pm and 8pm.

Carly Chambers, area environment manager at the EA, said: "Our regulatory controls for the waste industry are in place to protect people and the environment.

"We will now assess the proposals to ensure they meet our strict requirements.

"We welcome comments from the public and interested groups on local environmental factors that people feel are important."

Additional ways of commenting will include by e-mail, to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk, or in writing to the Environment Agency, Permitting and Support Centre, Land Team, Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield, S9 4WF.

Endless Energy Ltd plans to build the incinerator to treat and dispose of commercial waste from businesses across the region, by burning it to generate electricity.

Campaigners fighting the scheme said they were expecting the permit application and were ready to put forward their case.

Opponents of the project say it will inflict harmful pollution on the Aire Valley and its surroundings, and will blight the landscape.

But Endless Energy Ltd refutes the allegations, arguing that the facility will provide an environmentally-friendly form of energy, while conforming to strict European emissions standards.