QUALITY of life, public safety and even jobs will be at risk if a waste transfer station is given the go-ahead, planners were told.

Around 120 protesters, who included councillors and a vicar, attended a public meeting in Blandford's Corn Exchange to state their reasons why Sita's application should be refused.

Before the meeting, which was jointly organised by the county and district councils, members of the county planning committee went on a site visit.

Sita have applied to build the transfer station handling 16,000 tonnes of waste per year and civic recycling amenity on industrial land off Higher Shaftesbury Lane in the town.

Many people at the meeting questioned the figures in a traffic impact study which claims there would be around 152 cars a day visiting the civic amenity in the week and around 52 HGV movements a day to the transfer station.

At weekends there would no HGVs but three to four times as many cars.

Blandford town councillor Haydn White said: "You go up to Stourpaine (where a small recycling centre exists) and count 152 cars on a Saturday or Sunday and you will be back at 10am."

His views were echoed by former town councillor Derek Driscoll who said the traffic impact figures were "grossly underestimated" with the increases causing excess pollution and a risk to children.

Other people cited smell, vermin problems, excess dust and airborne bacteria risks as reasons to turn the scheme down.

One businessman adjacent to the site claimed his firm, which employs 60 and makes a unique product to keep food fresher longer, would be at risk of closure or having to move because overseas markets would not buy his product if they knew the firm was next to a waste transfer station and at risk of bacteria infection.

Blandford parish vicar Rev Tim Goodbody claimed creating the facility opposite the town's cemetery would be offensive to those visiting the graves of loved-ones.

"When I take funeral services in that cemetery there is already too much noise. More vehicles would be horrendous," he said.

Another protester added: "It's almost obscene to consider putting the local tip opposite the garden of remembrance. It does not bear thinking about."

Chairman of the county council's planning committee Joe Rose told protesters to put all their views in writing and they would be read before planners made a decision on the site in December.