A power plant with a tower more than 60 feet tall could be built to provide heat and electricity for hundreds of homes in an "urban village".

Railtrack and Sainsbury's want to build the combined generator, or CHP, near the junction of New England Road and New England Street in Brighton behind the Cobbler's Thumb pub.

It would provide all heat and power to the large development already approved for land next to Brighton Station, including hundreds of homes, a language school headquarters, hotels and a Sainsbury's.

CHP plants are supposed to provide energy and heat in a more efficient way than electricity provided through the National Grid.

There would be three chimneys, one more than 60 feet tall. The applicants claim they would not generally be visible from a distance.

CHPs recover the heat from the generation of electricity and use it to provide warmth for nearby buildings.

City councillors meet on Wednesday to decide whether the plant should receive planning permission and Green party members are calling for it to be rejected.

Green convenor Keith Taylor said: "I will be asking the planning committee to throw this application out.

"The applicants admit nitrogen dioxide levels will increase, possibly to dangerous levels. It is unbelievable that officers have recommended approval.

"Combined heat and power is a good idea in principle but this plant is too far from the houses it will power and the stack is too near Preston Circus, which was recently dubbed Pollution Circus, as well as being close to many houses.

"The project needs rethinking and resiting, possibly closer to the railway lines and further away from people."

If the plant is agreed, the applicants will have to provide £25,000 towards setting up an air quality monitoring system in the area.

Planning officer Paul Vidler said it was a difficult application but added: "The benefits of the proposed plant outweigh the negative impacts."

Allan Jones, a director of the energy and environmental company Thameswey, said the plant would enable the whole site to become self-sufficient in energy.

He said its primary purpose was to reduce carbon dioxide from the station site development.

Friday November 21, 2003