SEVERN Waste Services has finally lodged a planning application for an incinerator at Kidderminster - nine months after first unveiling the controversial plant's proposed location.

The Evesham-based firm handed in its application to planners at County Hall yesterday.

The company wants to put a "small-scale modern energy waste plant and two recycling facilities" at Kidderminster's Stourport Road. The site was made public in February, following months of speculation among people in Wyre Forest.

"This would be the last link in the integrated waste management service that we are committed to providing," said the area director of Severn Waste Services, Alan Foster.

"We are sending out an information leaflet to residents in the vicinity and we are holding public exhibitions."

Severn Waste Services, which has set up a 'Wasteline' on 0845 6011 403, will host exhibitions at Stourport, Kidderminster and Bewdley.

The Conservatives' Parliamentary candidate for Wyre Forest, Mark Simpson, has called for the project to be axed.

Mr Simpson claimed the latest research indicated that an estimated 88 people died each year in the UK as a result of lung conditions brought about by incinerator emissions.

"It would seem that incinerators, not even the much-vaunted 'new generation', are not safe," he said.

"The Kidderminster incinerator plans must be scrapped immediately."

Severn Waste Services insists its plans are accompanied by independent environmental assessments about "air quality, traffic and ecology".

Worcestershire County Council will ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, John Prescott, to decide the matter - even though the council must also consider the application.

The council has hired the environmental consultants Entec to advise the authority.

As well as browsing documents at County Hall and public libraries in Wyre Forest, residents can attend the following public exhibitions:

6 Monday, December 4: Stourport Civic Hall, 3-8pm.

6 Tuesday, December 5: Kidderminster Town Hall, 3-8pm.

6 Friday, December 8: Stourport Civic Hall, 3-8pm.

6 Saturday, December 9: St George's Hall, Bewdley, 11am-4pm.

The lobby group Stop Kidderminster Incinerator wanted an extension of the consultation period, said spokeswoman Christine Jordan.

"We do not think it is a done deal," she said.

"Environment Minister Michael Meacher has said that incinerators cannot go ahead if enough people object."