Plans for a composting plant to process household waste from South Gloucestershire homes have been sent back to the drawing board.

Waste company SITA has withdrawn plans for the pro- posed facility near Tormarton, which sparked protests from residents, and it will submit a revised scheme in the autumn.

Details of what will change have not been revealed but opponents say that whatever form they take, they will continue to oppose the plant.

The scheme is aimed at handling thousands of tonnes of organic waste, including food, from South Gloucestershire homes, turning it into compost using the in-vessel method.

This involves allowing waste to rot in enclosed tanks or bunkers where the temperature and air flow is controlled.

SITA wants to build its plant at the site of the former highways training depot next to the A46, close to junction 18 of the M4.

But people living nearby have opposed the move, claiming it will spoil the countryside, which is in the green belt and the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Opponents said they were worried about the effect it would have on the Cotswold Way long-distance path and local roads and they were concerned they could suffer from dust, noise, vermin and bad smells.

SITA, which has the contract to empty household bins in South Gloucestershire, has spent years searching for a suitable location to build a facility.

It said Tormarton was capable of taking 30,000 tonnes of kitchen waste, garden clippings and cardboard every year to convert into compost.

The council wants to collect the kind of waste to be handled at such a facility every week through its green wheelie bin system but first needs somewhere for the material to be treated.

A previous scheme by SITA for a site near Westerleigh Crematorium was rejected following complaints.

The company said the decision to resubmit the Tormarton application came a year after its original submission was made.

In that time, extra information had been collected through consultation with the Highways Agency and Environment Agency.

The withdrawal of the current application would allow that information to be included in the revised plan, said SITA.

Planning manager Gareth Phillips said: "It is normal that these kinds of applications take time but we wish to present the most up-to-date information possible to the council and have taken the decision to resubmit it."

Sue Hope, local Lib Dem councillor, said: "I welcome the withdrawal of this application – something that my colleagues and I have been advocating for many months – and wait to see the new plans."

Opponents said the depot would be better used as a picnic area and car-share parking site.

John Wells, chair of Tormarton Parish Council, said: "We are all just flabbergasted that they should continue with this. There has been unprecedented opposition, with over 200 residents objecting to the scheme.

"We are just totally surprised that SITA should continue down this track when there has been enormous opposition to the plans, not only from individuals but from the local parish councils too.

"We are resolute in opposing this scheme – it is totally inappropriate in the green belt. I suppose that SITA will try to block future opposition in their new plans by dealing with issues already raised. But we will still fight them."