BRICKWORKS left empty when Hanson closed it last year and with the loss of 56 jobs, could have a new lease of life as a plastic recycling plant.

Hanson Building Products says it has switched brick production in Whittlesey to the nearby Kings Dyke works as part of a �1million investment and now wants a new use for the Saxon works left idle.

The company is planning to demolish brick kilns and lean-to buildings at the 20 acre site and hope to recycle and process 80,000 tonnes of materials from the demolition, of which half is expected to be re-used on site. Only asbestos cement based materials will be sent to landfill.

Whittlesey county and district councillor Martin Curtis said that now an application has been submitted “I will be doing all the digging I can”.

He wrote on community website Shape Your Place that there will need to be “some strong statistical information about the impact that any development will have that challenges an officer recommendation.

“I will be working on this aspect now – challenging and making sure there is robust analysis of the highways issues.”

He has also asked for health statistics particularly since he has a son and wife who have asthma which is always worse, he says, in and around Whittlesey.

He said that any problems with emissions would be controlled through production processes.

“No one anywhere is suggesting that what is proposed will cause harm – mitigation measures are there to deal with exactly the concerns expressed,” he said.

He did however agree that “this mitigation needs to be properly explained to the people in Whittlesey in a way that gives them confidence”.

It is anticipated that the new facility would process up to 150,000 tonnes of material each year on a three shift 24 hour basis.”