OPPONENTS of a biogas plant have dismissed a revised planning application – with one man calling it a "**** factory".
Farmer Laurence Matthews wants to build an anaerobic digestion facility at Coast Hill Farm, Wotton, to convert maize, silage and manure into biogas to generate energy.
Amended plans were submitted to Mole Valley District Council on Friday, removing one of three storage tanks originally proposed, but many residents are still opposed.
Shelly Bolton, from Westcott, said: "The issues local residents are still objecting to have not diminished in any shape or form despite losing one of the tanks.
"We are still extremely concerned regarding the traffic and access; this is on a particularly dangerous stretch of road."
In November residents formed the Coast Hill Environment Group and member Dr Sarah Moylan, of Coast Hill, said another major concern was the plant's location in the green belt and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
"Anaerobic digestion is an industrial activity in the green belt," she said.
"It could happen but the application has to demonstrate very special circumstances to justify it, and no special circumstances are being demonstrated."
The issue was discussed by Wotton Parish Council on Tuesday, when parish councillor Daniel Bennett jokingly referred to the digester as a "**** factory".
He said: "There are 88 residents' letters on the council's website about this, and only 22 are in favour."
But Mr Matthews, who is also chairman of the parish council, played down the facility's impact.
"We're not going to create traffic," he said. "We've done our absolute best to hide it and mitigate traffic.
"You practically need to be in the plant to see it. There are thousands of these in Germany, in the middle of towns, and there are never complaints about noise or smells.
"I would not be building this in the community just to wind people up. I live here."