THE Environment Agency has granted the operators of the cement factory at Westbury permission to burn recycled liquid fuel for a trial period of six months despite opposition from local people.

Hundreds of protesters, including many from the Devizes area, took to the streets of Westbury at the end of April to voice their objections to the firms' proposals.

But after a year of consultation the agency has agreed to allow cement company Lafarge to burn the toxic waste for a limited period and they will then consider on the basis of the results of the test whether to give the go-ahead for further burning of the fuel.

The agency said that stringent conditions will be imposed on Lafarge during the trial:

A dedicated management team will ensure that emission limits are met and the trial is conducted safely.

New emission limits will be imposed on the company when recycled liquid fuel is used and purpose-built secure on-site storage tanks will be used to store the fuel.

There will be extensive additional monitoring of emissions from the main chimney and spot tests.

Environmental monitoring around the works will include continuous air monitoring for 12 months, including the whole of the six-month trial and a soil survey for metals and dioxins.

If emission limits are breached, the Environment Agency said it will immediately halt the use of the liquid fuel.

Environmentalists are concerned as the prevailing winds carry emissions a considerable distance from the factory.