A new £2.75m recycling centre for Norwich, to be built next to the Northern Distributor Road, could get the green light next week.

Officers at Norfolk County Council are recommending that councillors approve the plans for the new tip, on land north of the NDR, close to the A140 Cromer Road roundabout, when they meet on Friday, June 5.

The recycling centre would be on some 10 acres of land, which used to form part of Norwich International Airport.

It would be able to take up to 20,000 tonnes of waste from homes each year, along with a small amount of waste from businesses.

The site would also house a reuse shop, which will sell items brought to the facility at a low cost rather than disposing of them.

If permission is granted by the county council’s planning regulatory committee, then the centre will be a replacement for the current city tip in Mile Cross.

The county council’s lease on that site is due to end this September.

But concerns had been raised about access to the tip, which would be from an access road leading off from the A140 Cromer Road roundabout.

Three people objected to the scheme, which triggered the need for it to go before councillors at next week’s meeting.

Among their objections were that the roundabout could become gridlocked, with tailbacks onto the southbound carriageway of the A140, already busy at peak times.

But council officers say the site can be operated without “unacceptable impact” on the highway network.

At an earlier stage in the plans, Norwich Airport had tabled a holding objection to the scheme.

The airport had concerns with the proposed landscaping and drainage designs - fearing that could attract birds, which could pose a danger to planes.

But council officers said: “The applicant has amended the proposed landscaping scheme and also lodged a bird hazard management plan to ensure the scheme does not pose an increased hazard of bird strike during either the construction or operation phase of the development.”

The airport was also concerned proposed solar panels could dazzle pilots or air traffic controllers.

But with the council promising to include conditions to tackle that, the airport has said it no longer objects.