Villagers have voiced their anger at the impact a proposed waste storage lagoon will have on their rural community.

Evolution Town Planning has submitted an application to Norfolk County Council on behalf of the Ditchingham Estate for a digestate storage lagoon on land south of Toad Lane in Seething, which formed part of the former Seething Second World War airfield.

Digestate is a nutrient-rich substance that can be used as a fertiliser and consists of leftover indigestible material and dead organisms.

It would be used on the land owned by the estate instead of synthetic fertilisers.

Dozens of objections have been submitted by people living in the immediate area and neighbouring villages, highlighting concerns over the impact on an area, the potential odour from the facility and the impact on traffic in the village.

Angela Green runs Tindall Ale Brewery with her husband and their home and business is adjacent to the proposed site. She said: 'The effect on our life here and the damage it will have to our business - it will destroy us.

'We have done a lot of research into this and we know it is a new, green innovation but there have also been cases of leaks and collapses.'

If the proposal gets the go-ahead, digestate would be delivered to the site in two to eight vacuum tankers per day in peak times, and removed from the lagoon when needed, typically by tractor and trailer.

The proposed lagoon would be sealed by a double membrane system and sealed to the air so no odour can be released and is pumped out via pipes, according to the planning application.

Mrs Green said concerns also surround the number and size of the vehicles using the site.

She said: 'The road is a designated bus route and there is also a bus stop for students of Hobart High School along Harvey Lane and students have to walk along Toad Lane to reach this.

'I know they say this is a route which HGVs can go along, but there is no way to get past when they are on the road and there are no passing places - the roads were not built for this type of traffic.

'We have lived here for many years and we know what wildlife is here and the impact the site could have.

'We are not opposed to the facility. We are against the location and the impact it will have on our lives.'

Mrs Green said an emergency meeting was held in Seething earlier this week attended by almost 60 people to discuss the plans.

The village is home to Seething Control Tower Museum which is a restored Second World War air traffic control tower. It acts as a memorial to those who served at the airfield from 1943 to 1945.

The village is also home to Seething Observatory and Norwich Astronomical Society.

A number of members of the society have made written objections to the proposals citing concerns about the facility and its potential to cause light pollution.

Steven Bainbridge, planning consultant from Evolution Town Planning, said: 'They are valid concerns but there will be no smell.

'It is a double-lined lagoon which is welded all the way around.

'The site is already a designated HGV access route so these vehicles are already using the roads and the vehicle movements will replace the ones currently taking place.'

Norfolk County Council said a consultation on the application was currently taking place and a date would then be set for the plans to be considered by the Planning Regulatory Committee.

Do you support the plans? Write to Beccles and Bungay Journal Letters, 20 Blyburgate, Beccles, NR34 9TB or email bbj.letters@archant.co.uk including your name and address.