Campaigners battling plans to build a £5 million power plant in the heart of the Shropshire countryside today said they were disappointed with the way the council had handled the case.

They claim South Shropshire District Council, which has now been replaced by Shropshire Council, did not represent the masses during last year’s public inquiry over the application to build a biomass plant on the outskirts of Bishop’s Castle.

Karen Bavastock, spokesman for the Bishop’s Castle Group, made the comments after the group obtained information which they claim had been withheld by the then district council.

But Shropshire Council bosses say proper procedures were followed before and during the inquiry.

After the inquiry developers were granted permission for the plant although there was no option to buy the proposed site. Campaigners have since been urging interested parties to try to buy the land instead.

They claim they have papers which show a bias on the council’s behalf and that consultant James Caird, who was paid by the district council to attend the inquiry on its behalf, did not provide a fair and balanced argument.

Miss Bavastock said: “We are extremely disappointed at the way in which the council has dealt with the whole issue of the biomass planning application.

“We always felt that there was an element of support from the council for the biomass application, despite the objections of over 90 per cent of local people.”

But Nick Taylor, for Shropshire Council, said: “Mr Caird’s statements appear to have been misinterpreted. He was representing SSDC and statements indicate he was trying to protect south Shropshire’s council taxpayers from an award of costs by the inspector to the appellants.”