A “completely unacceptable” proposal to dump building rubbish in an open-air green belt site has been officially abandoned, a parish council has said.

Land next to junction seven for the M11 in Hastingwood is no longer being considered for a controversial building rubbish processing plant, North Weald parish council announced today (February 11).

Unpopular proposals from Essex County Council could have seen open-air dumping at the site next to a McDonald’s restaurant, the motorway and St Clare’s Hospice.

The county council said the decision – which was unofficially announced last month – was made because the site is in the green belt and any proposals would be rejected unless “very special circumstances” applied.

The council said: “Following further consideration of representations received it is no longer clear that the waste use amounts to very special circumstances.

“Given this uncertainty this site is no longer included in the RLWP (Replacement Local Waste Plan).”

The proposal, which was in consideration against several others, had faced extensive opposition from members of the public and the parish council.

There had been fears of eight lorries coming and going from the site every hour, polluting green belt land and homes and exacerbating existing traffic problems.

“It is just a big relief, common sense has prevailed,” said Paul Sozzi of Mill Street in Hastingwood, who opposed the plans.

“It’s people power, we managed to get a good few respondents and I think that helped.”

Describing the potential issues previously, he said: “If you see the number of incidents on the M11 recently, the only way in our out [for lorries] would be through Harlow or Epping and neither of those towns have got the roads for those vehicles.

“You are talking a lorry every eight minutes – it is busy at the best of times, there is no way they could take the level of traffic.

“You have got a danger to cyclists, wildlife, and there is the dirt from those lorries.

“It is just an impossible solution, it does not work.”

Parish council chairman Cyril Hawkins welcomed the county council’s move.

He said: “The parish council is delighted to have received this official confirmation that the site is no longer under consideration.

“This news brings to an end a period of great uncertainty for the parish as we feared that such a use could go ahead despite the wishes of the parish council and local residents.”