One million pounds in wages would be injected into the economy every year if a new energy-from-waste plant is approved, backers say.

Plans have now been submitted for the £80m development at Kingmoor Park, Carlisle, by Fortum Carlisle Ltd and Kingmoor Park Properties Ltd.

If successful, they say the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) – which aims to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill – would create up to 40 permanent, full-time jobs.

An estimated 100 extra workers would be taken on during construction, potentially surging to 200 at peak times.

It would work by burning household waste at high temperatures to generate electricity and heat.

Those behind the scheme stress that the final plans have been revised to address concerns raised during public consultation in April.

During the consultation 43 people filled out feedback forms, mostly opposed to the plans.

The main areas of concern were air quality, traffic, noise and its impact on neighbouring areas.

As a result, the site will now only deal with pre-processed waste rather than unprocessed ‘kerbside’ waste.

Its capacity would also be less than originally proposed – dropping from 225,000 tonnes to 195,000 tonnes – to reduce the number of HGVs going to and from the plant.

The design of the plant has also been altered, to reduce the size and appearance, in line with community feedback.

Those behind the project insist there would be no odours or toxic emissions, and no nuisance or health risk to residents.

A second public meeting will be held on Monday, July 4, to discuss the amended plans, including a reduced-height chimney stack, which have now been