Members of the authority's planning committee will meet in the spa town on Thursday next week to discuss the proposals for the £18m energy-from-waste (EfW) unit at Tockwith, between Harrogate and York.

The Yorkshire Post revealed last week that campaigners opposed to the plans had urged the borough council, one of the statutory consultees, to back their protest against the power plant, which would be the first of its kind in England.

And the council's planning officers have now recommended that councillors lodge a formal objection to the proposals which have been put forward by BCB Environmental Management.

Coun John Savage represents Tockwith on both Harrogate Council and North Yorkshire County Council, which is due to decide later this year whether planning permission for the new power plant should be granted.

Coun Savage is worried by traffic issues and the site's proximity to nearby homes.

He added: "This development would totally transform the villages of Tockwith and others in the surrounding area. Its impact could be quite devastating on homes, businesses and farms.

"North Yorkshire County Council has already received many hundreds of letters of objection to this proposal and more are arriving all the time.

"This would be a round-the-clock business, seven days a week with a chimney which will be at least 60 feet high. It has already been dubbed the Blackpool Tower of the Vale of York and would stick out like a very large sore thumb."

BCB Environmental Management insists that emissions from the plant will be cleaner than the air in any UK city.

While the proposals for the EfW plant have sparked widespread protests from people living nearby, the plans have been endorsed by the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly.

The assembly has now approved the project, claiming it will help with regional targets for waste disposal and renewable energy generation.

BCB managing director Phil Boardman maintained that an operating licence would not be granted by the Environment Agency if there was any question mark over health and safety.

The new unit, inside one of the company's existing units on the Marston Moor Industrial Estate, would generate 10 megawatts of electricity – enough to run about 10,000 homes.

Parish councillor Clive Billenness welcomed the "common sense" recommendation by the planners.

He said: "Objectors have pledged to turn out in force next Thursday to show Harrogate councillors how concerned we are about this proposal.

"We will urge them to heed the advice of their officers and object to this proposal in the strongest possible terms."