Environmentalists are to fight plans for a methane power station on a Site of Scientific Interest amid fears it could kill off butterflies and dragonflies.

Calderdale Council planning officers have backed a scheme to build a power station to drain methane from former landfill sites at Cromwell Bottom in Brighouse.

But members of the Halifax Scientific Society say construction work would devastate insects and wild plants which include orchids and ten species of dragonfly and damselfly.

Society member Brian Cain said: "Areas such as Cromwell Bottom have become significant because modern farming methods have wiped out many wild plants and insects.

"The butterfly larvae would die if the plants they eat are uprooted.

"We are also worried that putting pipes into the landfill could cause leakages of poisonous liquids and gas."

Members of the Council's development control sub-committee are being recommended to approve the plans at a meeting on Tuesday.

The site, near Elland Road, Brookfoot, has two land-filled areas where rubbish was dumped from 1983. It is designated as a Site of Scientific Interest because of the wildlife living there.

It stands next to the River Calder and Calder and Hebble Navigation Canal.

As part of the landfill deal wildlife refuges were set up to protect species of plants and insects.

The power station, which would be the size of a shipping container or an electricity sub-station, would burn off methane created underground from decomposing waste.

Power, generated by special diesel engines, would be fed into the National Grid.

Council officers say once the pipes were sunk into the landfill they would have no effect on the area, which is used for watersports, fishing, and by walkers, horse riders and for wildlife study.

Dave Murray, of Australian-based Energy Developments which has made the application, said the power generator would be small and make little noise.

He said: "You can either leave the methane gas to seep out of the site or put it to use by burning it off.

"I don't doubt some people will be concerned about the construction but using waste gases is an environmentally friendly alternative to burning fossil fuels."

Robert Masheder, a conservation officer for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: "Wetland sites such as this are fast disappearing all over the country so every one has local importance.

"We would expect that Calderdale Council would ensure that the scale of any power station scheme does not affect the wildlife interest."

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