Lorries using a narrow single track road to reach a waste site near North Walsham are sparking fears among officials as well as residents.Neighbours of a planned liquid waste transfer station at Spa Common have already turned out in force to air concerns about the impact on traffic and countryside.

Lorries using a narrow single track road to reach a waste site near North Walsham are sparking fears among officials as well as residents.

Neighbours of a planned liquid waste transfer station at Spa Common have already turned out in force to air concerns about the impact on traffic and countryside.

Now a report to North Norfolk District Council's east area development control committee has also highlighted highway worries.

Operators HFS are seeking permission to convert the former Anglian Water sewage sludge treatment works into a waste water transfer station handling and storing liquids such as flood water, agricultural waste, and car park run-off.

They say traffic with their six lorries would be no greater than in the past.

But a planning official says traffic generation is crucial and any proposal which increases use of the site and its Marshgate access road, which was “a narrow single track road with limited passing and restricted visibility”, should be resisted.

The final decision will be made by Norfolk County Council, but the district is being asked for its views, and councillors are being recommended to raise “severe reservations” over any increased traffic. But if it was approved there are calls for conditions over landscaping, tree protection, smell controls and working hours.

Recently 200 locals packed North Walsham Community Centre to air their concerns, ranging from traffic to the nature of the waste itself. HFS has said some opponents were basing their views on misunderstandings, and that a figure of 48 truck movements a day was a top line figure for emergencies and was more likely to average a dozen, with drivers asked to avoid school run times when passing the Manor Road area.