FURIOUS neighbours of an international bakery have banded together to try and stop its expansion plans.

People living near the British Bakeries site, in Belmont Road, Northumberland Heath, are horrified by plans to build five new, higher silos and extend its buildings.

The company says it wants to switch from being a production and distribution centre, to concentrate wholly on baking.

It says the switch, which will mean the transfer of 100 jobs to Dagenham, will also mean less traffic going in and out of the plant.

But local people who have formed Beat Bakery Expansion Action Team point out that while there will be less traffic overall, the number of huge articulated lorries trying to get through the narrow local roads, will increase.

The movement of lorries weighing anything between 28 and 44 tons, will increase from a peak of 156 movements a day, to 222.

The company proposes to increase the warehouse size by 1,200 sqm and the industrial buildings by 935 sqm.

Next to the existing silos it is intended to build four new flour silos and a salt silo about 10ft higher than the tallest existing ones.

Against local people's wishes, the company was allowed to build three new silos on the site in 1994.

People living in flats in Becton Place said at the time the new silos would be an eyesore and block their sunlight in the winter.

Residents' association chairman Viv McLellan invited Bexley councillors into her home to see for themselves the impact new silos would have, but none took up her invitation before making their decision. But she said even she was not prepared for the eventual impact of the new silos.

The new protest group, Beat, is holding a public meeting at the Pheasant pub to discuss the plans , in Belmont Road, tonight at 8pm and local people will be welcome to put their views .

Beat member Matt Matkins said if British Bakeries wanted to expand it should move to a more suitable site, near the major road networks.

The bakery's area manufacturing manager Nigel Dalmon said: "As a major employer within the area, we want to work in close partnership with our neighbours and aim to do our best to respect the community and the environment."

November 20, 2001 12:44