RESIDENTS in Horwich are up in arms about the state of private recycling plants in the town.

They claim dust blows around from mounds of waste and also from unsheeted lorries on the roads.

During a protest walk against the proposed tip, across Red Moss on New Year's Day, people were appalled at the appearance of the recycling plant at Chorley New Road and others on the loco works.

Some said they were convinced that the extension to Red Moss Tip had already started. The residents' complaints have been taken up by Horwich town councillors Bob and Barbara Ronson, who were also on the walk.

"I have been approached by residents who think that this situation has been deliberately allowed by Bolton to lessen the environmental value of Red Moss," said Cllr Mrs Ronson.

She has raised the matter at the planning committee but was told there were legal requirements to be met before any action can be taken.

The Chorley New Road operation is at present the subject of a breach of condition notice because of its height. Cllr Mrs Ronson has also asked the environmental health department to look at the situation, which she said was "totally unacceptable" to the people of Horwich.

Cllr Bob Ronson, a member of the community health council, has been concerned for some time about the high incidence of asthma in Horwich children.

"Some of these processes involve foundry sand which should be subjected to proper controls and should not be allowed to blow about," he said.

"Horwich councillors fought against these processes being conducted so near to houses, but at the moment we feel powerless to stop them." Bolton Council's head of planning control, Howard Barratt, said that in November, the planning committee had visited the Chorley New Road site operated by recycled Waste Development and a breach of condition order was served.

This was mainly against the height of the mound, which was about four metres instead of the required two and a half metres.

The firm has been given until March 28 to comply with the order and, if it fails to do so, further action will be taken. John Kenyon, managing director of Recycled Waste Development, said the mound was already there when he started trading and because of the recession in the building industry he has been unable to get the processed material out and reduce the level.

There was now a machine working on the site to bring the pile down to comply with the order, he said.

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