Royal Wootton Bassett locals have been given the chance to speak out on plans to use smelly fumes from a landfill site to grow fresh fruit and veg.

The plans, put forward by Sustain Wiltshire, are to create a low-cost and affordable fruit and vegetable production centre at the Crapper and Sons landfill site on the edge of Royal Wootton Bassett.

However, this cutting-edge production centre will not look like most produce centres, as it will use methane from the landfill on Brinkworth Road to power the engines that will generate electricity and heat for greenhouses on site.

According to Sustain, locals won’t need to worry about smelly fumes getting into their fruit and veg, as the greenhouses will use an airlock system to prevent contaminates, pests and diseases from entering.

After months of preparing, these plans were put to residents for the first time in a public consultation held at Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Football Club on Monday, December 4.

Swindon Advertiser: The public consultation in Royal Wootton Bassett was a huge success.The public consultation in Royal Wootton Bassett was a huge success. (Image: Sustain Wiltshire)

“Over the years, we have worked hard to support our local community,” said Richard Crapper, managing director of Crapper and Sons Landfill.

“These plans are the next stage of that legacy. Our goal is to transform the way landfill sites are utilised so that they become one of the most climate-friendly methods of waste disposal.”

So far, it seems that the plans have been met with positivity from residents of the town.

"I don’t think anyone is hugely against the plan as it was a landfill site anyway and it’s a good use of otherwise unusable land," said Bassett local Luke Edwards

"It also creates local jobs. The key thing is about the amount of traffic in and out of the site and the impact of that on the local road network," he added.

The aim is for the greenhouses to supply 80 per cent of all fruit and vegetable requirements for Royal Wootton Basset, Malmesbury, Purton and Brinkworth, consuming up to 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

If approved, the groundbreaking concept would create up to 130 new jobs and potentially become a blueprint for other landfill sites around the UK to follow.

Richard believes that residents of the town, which has recently been subject to multiple plans to expand, need not be concerned about the initiative as it is only using what is already there.

“All this is possible within the footprint of our existing site.

“It’s a pioneering solution which totally rethinks how landfill sites can be repurposed and reused for good,” he added.