WASTE management firm Viridor is to seek planning permission to build a £180 million resource recovery centre near Lee Mill. The firm is one of three shortlisted companies who are bidding to handle waste for the South West Devon Waste Partnership – made up of Plymouth City Council, Devon County Council and Torbay Council.

But it has said that it will seek to build the centre regardless of whether it wins this Private Finance Initiative contract.

Dan Cooke, Viridor's external affairs manager, said the firm was financing the project through its parent company, and was not reliant on external funding.

"We are in a strong position because the company can corporately finance this from within the parent company rather than relying on bank finance, which can be seen as a distinct advantage," he said.

"We hope this is seen as a signal of intent and confidence in the service we provide."

Viridor's scheme would see the New England quarry, just south of the A38 at Lee Mill, near Plymouth, turned into an energy from waste facility which could treat 275,000 tonnes of waste a year, as well as a landfill site for waste that cannot be recycled or turned into energy, with capacity for one million tonnes.

In addition, there would be an ash treatment and recycling facility to treat the ash created as waste is burned in the incinerator which would produce around 62,500 tonnes a year of recycled aggregates for the construction industry.

There would also be a visitor and education centre which would focus on explaining how energy from waste works and the importance of recycling.

"All across the UK a new approach needs to be taken to how we deal with our waste," said Howard Ellard, Viridor's technical development manager.

"Our proposals could help local authorities and businesses maximise resource efficiency and meet their challenging waste targets – helping reduce the risk of financial penalties and avoiding increased landfill tax,"

Around 40 employees would be needed to run the facility, if it goes ahead, with up to 250 jobs created during an anticipated three-year construction process. Viridor estimates that for every job created at the plant, between five and seven jobs would be created in the surrounding area, as local waste businesses would be likely to grow as a result of the plant.

The site could produce up to 20 megawatts of electricity a year for the National Grid – enough to power around 45,000 homes.

Viridor is to meet with the developers behind the Sherford development to discuss whether power from the site could be used by the new town.

Viridor is now in talks with the Highways Agency about creating a new slip road off the A38 that could bypass Lee Mill and take the heavy traffic that would need to access the site away from the village.

This has yet to be finalised, but could form the basis of a section 106 agreement with Devon County Council, the planning authority.

Up to 150 lorries could access the site every day if the scheme goes ahead, and concerns about traffic have so far been the biggest worry for residents in the area.

Viridor is now embarking on a public consultation campaign that will see exhibitions taking place at Lee Mill, Ivybridge and Yealmpton, as well as meetings with South West Devon MP Gary Streeter and local councillors and parish councillors. Six thousand leaflets have been produced which will be distributed to nearby residents.

Mr Streeter said he would liaise with residents and local councillors before responding formally.

"I would prefer not to have an incinerator in my constituency, but I recognise that it has got to go somewhere," he said. "I am worried about the potential environmental impact of this particular location, with the river nearby.

"The overwhelming problem is the impact of the people of Lee Mill who already suffer a barrage of traffic, particularly because of Tesco and the industrial estate. The village has the equivalent of the M5 going through it in terms of traffic flow."

The landfill element of the scheme would be housed in the deepest part of the quarry, which is now filled with water.

The remainder of the project would be built on flat land at the top of the quarry, with Viridor choosing a dome-shaped design that it says would have minimal impact on the landscape.

The main building, which would house power generation equipment and the combustion chamber, would be about 45 metres high, with a 90-metre chimney.

It would operate 24/7 and would have strict air pollution controls so that smoke was contained, and negative air pressure so that odours remained inside the building.

As well as residential waste, the site would also handle commercial and industrial waste.

The proposal comes as local authorities and businesses find themselves under increasing pressure to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill.

Landfill tax is rising by £8 per tonne per year, and is set to hit £72 per tonne in 2013.

Viridor will be putting in a planning application in November and, if it gets the go-ahead, expects the site to be operational from 2013.

The 20-hectare site has been disused for a number of years – although police divers use it for training purposes. It was originally used to quarry dolomite, an aggregate which is used to build roads.

Viridor already operates two energy from waste plants – including Derriford Hospital's facility which turns clinical waste into heating and hot water for the hospital.

It has also received approval to build an energy from waste plant on the Marsh Barton Industrial Estate, in Exeter.

The South West Devon Waste Partnership has also shortlisted German energy-from-waste technology specialists MVV Umwelt and French-owned SITA UK for the 25-year contract, which will be worth a total of £800 million.

Both MVV Umwelt and Sita UK have put forward schemes for Ernesettle and Devonport, both in Plymouth.

The South West Devon Waste Partnership is expected to assess each of the proposals this autumn before making its decision.

Sita UK won the contract to handle Cornwall's waste, but was refused planning permission for an energy from waste plant at St Dennis, near St Austell, after villagers launched a concerted campaign against the development.

The company is appealing against the decision.

Dan Cooke, Viridor's external affairs manager, said he believed that the New England site was very different to that scheme.

"The key thing to this application is the context of the development we're proposing," he said. "It is clearly within the Local Development Plan and the Waste Local Plan, so there is a clear policy fit for the site."