ROUNDWAY Parish Council is to write to the operators of Westbury cement works seeking an assurance that its proposed burning of toxic waste will not create a hazard for people in the Devizes area.

At its quarterly meeting at Nursteed Community School on Monday, the council heard that Lafarge Cement UK, which operates the cement works below Westbury White Horse, is applying to the Environment Agency for a licence to burn recycled liquid fuel to heat its cement kilns. RLF is a by-product from the chemical industry derived from waste liquid solvents.

Coun Geoff Brewer told Monday's meeting: "The prevailing winds are bringing everything this way. The cement works have been burning tyres for some time now and demands for increased monitoring of pollution have been ignored by the Environment Agency.

"I feel this parish council should join in the calls for a public inquiry into the proposals to burn RLF. If there are any harmful pollutants in the waste, we will be among the first people it will hit."

Parish council chairman Viv Alexander proposed that they write to Lafarge asking how it proposes to ensure that no toxic materials are released during the burning.

He said: "We want assurances that the fumes will be harmless. There is a lot of concern in the parish over this and we would like them to tell us how they intend to prevent pollution reaching us."

The Environment Agency is holding a public meeting at Matravers School in Westbury on July 29, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, to discuss the situation.

The Environment Agency will also be holding discussion surgeries in Westbury, Bratton and Devizes during August, the dates to be confirmed.