The boss of a salad-growing company has reacted angrily to the latest legal challenge facing plans for a huge greenhouse the size of 18 football pitches.

Vince Russo is the owner and director of Valley Grown Salads (VGS) with his brother Jimmy, and is planning to build a giant glasshouse covering 22 acres in Paynes Lane, Nazeing.

Last week, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) announced it is fighting the plans in the Court of Appeal, the highest court in the country, over concerns that the development will detriment the green belt and negatively impact on wildlife in the rural area.

Mr Russo has criticised the LVRPA, claiming the challenge is a waste of money that could stop important local employment.

He said: “I hope common sense will prevail.

“We have got to grow to an economy of scale, more and more people want fresh produce.

“Shoppers are asking for more English, home-grown produce.

“It is not what I want, it is what the customers are demanding.

“If we do not support our own industry, we will be at the mercy of imports and food prices will rise.”

He added that the planned expansion, which has been supported by supermarket Waitrose, will be even more important in coming years.

He said: “The population of the country is growing, people are living longer and people want to eat healthy, fresh food.

“What we have got to remember is it is healthy, fresh food, it is locally grown and it employs local people with low food miles.

“You cannot feed the country on landscapes, you have to grow something on it.”

Chief executive of LVRPA Shaun Dawson said: “We recognise the history and importance of the glasshouse industry in supporting locally grown produce and jobs.

“We are not opposed to the appropriate expansion of the industry in the right locations, however the 1966 Lee Valley Regional Park Act seeks to promote the open land of Lee Valley Regional Park for Park purposes.

“The park is a green lung for London.”