A CRUCIAL decision whether to support the installation of a mobile rubble crusher at the former British Sugar site in Kidderminster should be put on the back-burner, a leading councillor has urged.

A special meeting of the planning (development control) committee has been arranged for Tuesday to discuss Wyre Forest District Council's response to the plan.

Tory group leader Stephen Clee said committee members should not make a move on the plan - which has aroused public controversy - as the scale of the operation has changed and councillors do not have the right figures.

They should instead visit a similar machine in Stourport and wait until they have the correct information before passing on their opinion to Worcestershire County Council.

The county council is to make the decision on whether to allow the rubble crusher - which has sparked fears among residents over dust and excessive noise - in December, giving the district council plenty of time to make up its mind, he said.

Mr Clee said: "I have suggested instead of meeting on Tuesday the committee should make a site visit to Sandy Lane in Stourport to see a similar crusher there. It is also an opportunity to get the correct report about the proposed crusher for the British Sugar site."

Figures handed to members of the committee about operating hours and the amount of rubble being driven in and out of the site had previously been scaled down and re-submitted to the county council by Kidderminster firm Lawrence's Aggregates.