More THAN 7,000 residents have objected to plans to turn an old brickworks into a waste dump.

The objections make up 60 per cent of the total number of letters received during consultation on West Sussex County Council's waste local plan.

Residents objected to plans for the Freshfield Lane Brickworks site, between Danehill and Horsted Keynes.

A spokesman for the Freshfield Action Group said: "The scale of the response is a measure of the strength of feeling against the proposal to have a waste tip at the brickworks.

"The proposal is misconceived and inappropriate and we hope the county council will listen to the views of residents, recognise the compelling arguments against the site and remove it from the plan."

The council has delayed the programme for the waste local plan by six months.

Final adoption of the plan will take place in March 2007, three years later than intended.

The action group's spokesman said: "More delay on the waste local plan is something we have grown used to over the last three years."

He said the delay was welcomed on one hand because it would allow the council to consult more fully with residents.

He added: "However, the delay also extends the uncertainty for residents of Horsted Keynes and Danehill to the point it is unfair and contrary to their rights."

Friday December 05, 2003