THE boss of a recycling and waste transfer station in Barrow has revealed plans to build a biomass unit on his site.

Brian Armistead has submitted a planning application to Barrow Borough Council to install a new biomass unit on land at Sinkfall Recycling, off Rakesmoor Lane in Barrow.

Mr Armistead said the unit, which will burn a maximum of 2,200 tonnes of wood a year, will mean he no longer has to send waste wood away to be treated.

Wood is classed in one of four categories: Grade A is 'clean' recycled wood produced from pallets and packaging; Grade B is construction and demolition waste which is suitable for making panelboard; Grade C is wood from municipal collections and civic amenity sites; and Grade D is hazardous waste wood such as fencing and trackwork.

Mr Armistead only intends to burn Grade A wood.

"This boiler only burns Grade A wood, which is clean and not painted," he said.

"All other grades of wood which we process will still go offsite."

The new biomass unit would include a 14-metre high flue - the same height as Sinkfall's existing biomass boiler's flue.

Although the Sinkfall biomass unit would be significantly smaller in scale, campaigners who fought off Centrica's bid to build a biomass power station in Barrow five years ago - which would have burned 1,500 tonnes of wood every day - raised concerns.

Ray Guselli, then a councillor with Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria County Council, said there was evidence that the burning of biomass fuels could aggravate certain health conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Mr Guselli said: "I know this is a much smaller scale, but it is still burning the same material.

"What would worry me is the proximity to the hospital and also a residential estates of Hawcoat, where you may have a lot of older people who may already suffer from these health conditions.

"More than 15,000 people signed petitions against Centrica's plans, giving an idea of the strength of feeling."

But Mr Armistead refuted any suggestion his plans had any implication for public health and said he had appointed consultants to assess any impact.

"My house is 52 metres away; if I was at all concerned I would not be doing this," he added.

A public consultation on the application is due to end on February 16.