A ROW has been raging in the Vale of Evesham over plans by a major employer to expand. It came to a head when Wychavon District Council backed plans by Kanes Foods to increase the 20-acre salad production and distribution site by another six acres.

This week all the information was being sent to Secretary of State John Prescott for him to decide whether to hold a public inquiry.

On the one hand the owner of Kanes, Dr John Randall, says he needs the extra acreage to keep his successful business, which employs about 1,000 people, viable.

Wychavon District Council backed his application after considering economic issues and letters of support from various bodies including Advantage West Midlands.

On the other hand, however, residents in the Littletons living around Kanes say for the past decade while the business has been flourishing, their quality of life has been declining.

They say heavy goods vehicles have been speeding through their country lanes putting children and elderly people at risk, more houses have been snapped up for foreign workers to rent, and more effluent has been overflowing their sewers spewing out into gardens and fields. Resident Jo Meadows, who has market garden land near to Kanes, said she is unable to use it because of pollution. The waste, often bright pink, bubbles up from the sewers. Severn Trent spokeswoman Caroline Hosie said: "We're aware that there has been a number of issues at Kanes Foods related to sewer flooding. Investigations are ongoing. We have stressed to the company that sticking to the amount of flow is advisable. We are currently planning to put CCTV cameras down the sewers to check out the structural condition, which could be causing the problem. The pink salad products such as beetroot colour the water."

Dr Randall is worried the delay in his plans could damage his business. He said: "This new building is required because the equipment installed into an existing pack house in 1995 requires updating with larger more modern equipment, which cannot be fitted within the existing structure. This structure will revert to its packing/dispatch function for which it was designed. All this is explained in fine detail in the planning application and helps to understand that the new building is not just extra capacity.

"Understandably, there are fears of more traffic coming with this new building but it must be remembered that commercial distribution ceased on this site with the departure of Walsh Mushrooms, Prima Fruit and Christian Salvesens between 1995 and 1998. Then HGVs travelling to Kanes were far more numerous than at present.

"Long-time residents will have noted a huge reduction in the numbers of HGVs and our records will confirm this. Contrary to the suggestion of the parish councils the new salad building will not generate a lot more traffic, nevertheless we will take further steps to contain HGV numbers. Perhaps some of the hostility to this plan stems from the assumption that all HGVs travelling through Badsey onto the Cleeve Road are coming to Kanes; this assumption is completely wrong and dangerously misleading.

"Relocation to Vale Park has been suggested. The duplication of technical facilities including water recycling and other central activities renders investment elsewhere not viable. Moreover Vale Park is not suitable for salad washing. We will, however, take advantage of Vale Park for dry operations such as distribution and storage. For processing we are where we are and will succeed or fail on this site.

"Other fears have been expressed about the acquisition of houses for overseas workers 'damaging the ability of local families to stay in the village'. A moment's consideration can dismiss this fear or should one anticipate a ban on all outsiders moving to the villages on retirement or lifestyle change?

"There has also been a call to define a true local. Some of the thinking behind this is very unpleasant and should be dismissed.

"All who work at Kanes are legally entitled to be here. They are good, hard-working people who make a considerable contribution to the economy and they will continue to be welcomed at Kanes.

"Evesham has a great tradition of horticulture and Kanes would like to play its part in this splendid story. We will invest to remain competitive and our growers are doing the same. It is to be hoped that one day the community will be as proud of Kanes and the growers of Evesham as am I."

If the plans go ahead conditions, such as improvements to footpaths, the cessation of any more extensions and a contribution to the cost of bus stop are likely to be imposed.