One of the sites earmarked as an alternative to a controversial £200 million tip could be ruled out after builders applied to redevelop it.

Dump The Dump, which is opposing plans for a dump to process all of Brighton and Hove's rubbish in Hollingdean, put forward a series of alternative sites which could handle waste in tandem across the city.

But their plan could effectively be ruined as one of their suggestions, the Sackville Road coal yard in Hove, is the subject of a planning application to build a vehicle rental firm.

Dump The Dump says the site should be safeguarded for a road-to-rail waste site because of its proximity to the railway line.

The site is even highlighted in the city council's local plan as an area which should be retained as a possible rubbish dump.

The plan says: "The site would provide an opportunity to reduce the traffic impacts of transporting waste to facilities for treatment or to a disposal site."

Waste contractor Onyx has a 25-year contract with Brighton and Hove City Council to deal with the residents' waste.

Onyx has applied to the council to build a materials recycling facility and a waste transfer site on land in Hollingdean Lane, Brighton, next to the Cityclean depot.

Thousands of residents are objecting to the plan, saying it will increase heavy traffic and pollution levels and is too close to schools.

They want the burden spread across a number of smaller sites.

The protesters' preferred five sites were taken from the Waste Local plan and included the Sackville Road coal yard, Hollingdean depot, Hollingbury industrial estate, Kemp Town gas works and Shoreham Harbour.

The council's planning applications sub-committee is due to discuss the application for Sackville Road coal yard tomorrow afternoon. The change of use would only be temporary.

Sandra Staufer, who was one of the founders of the Dump The Dump campaign, said protesters were keeping on top of developments and proposals across the city.

She was one of a group of people who have made representations to the council about the plan for Sackville Road coal yard.

She said: "This would have been sneaked through and it is for commercial use for a private car company and we think it should be retained and safeguarded for the city.

"We are watching the city because we believe there are various sites, and this may be one of them, which need to be safeguarded for waste.

"We can't let this site go to a private company which is not contributing to the waste issue."