WORRIED residents at Thornton-le-Dale who packed a public meeting on Monday night to protest about plans to generate electricity from methane gas at a refuse tip in the village were told that another site nearby would be investigated.

They also heard an admission that more should have been done to inform the public and that another public meeting will be held before a final decision is made on the proposal.

The scheme calls for Natural Power Ltd of Salford to install on the site a generator to produce up to 300 kilowatts of electricity for the National Grid.

There was standing room only when nearly 200 residents packed the Old Grammar School on Monday evening.

Resident Peter Schroeder said of the generator scheme: "You have chosen the worst possible site."

He said that a 'background buzz' from the plant could be just as annoying to people living nearby as a louder decibel noise.

Mr Schroeder said the site needed to be surrounded by mounds to dampen the noise. The consultation with the public had been "awful", he said.

"The developers should have consulted the village and the parish council."

He also said he was concerned about hydrocarbons and added: "We want an analysis carried out of the gas."

Tony Sharkey, of Yorwaste, which manages the tip, said: "Usually, we get a lot of support for such projects but this reaction has turned that on its head."

He said the plant had to be on hard ground to avoid settlement, which could affect the voltage being exported from the site into the National Grid. The location had been chosen because of the ground conditions but, said Mr Sharkey, "we will look at it again".

He added: "The generator will meet the highest possible European standards in terms of emissions.

"We are making use of the waste without causing a noise nuisance."

Concerns raised by residents, said parish council chairman Coun Wilf Garbutt, included the siting of the generator plant, pollution and emissions and a lack of consultation with the village.

Hugh Richmond, of Natural Power, said his company was the leader in generating electricity from landfill sites. "The whole ethos of our company is to be environmentally friendly."

Residents complained that the present gas flame was causing a noise nuisance. Mr Richmond responded: "Even if our planning application is turned down, we will address these concerns."

Mr Sharkey said Yorwaste had looked at providing additional mounds to lessen the noise.

He added that if it proved too expensive to generate electricity from the methane, the gas would be flared.

An official of the Environment Agency said it would not "wholeheartedly" support the civic amenity site at Thornton-le-Dale as an alternative site, a suggestion which had been put forward by some residents. "But moving it to another part of the site is a possibility."

Andy Wilson, chief executive of the North York Moors National Park Authority, which will decide the planning application, said: "I am aware that we haven't handled this as we should have done."

He said more consultation letters could have been sent out to residents in the area.

A further public meeting is to be held to discuss the detailed proposals before the planning application goes to the National Park Authority for a decision.

Updated: 09:39 Thursday, March 14, 2002