A local authority’s controversial plans for a new waste transfer station have been sent back to senior councillors for reconsideration after a debate by a special committee.

Burnley Council’s ruling three-party executive will now have to look again at its decision to approve the multi-million pound project on the borough’s Heasandford Industrial Estate.

The matter was debated by a special ‘call in’ meeting of the authority’s scrutiny committee at the request of Labour opposition group leader Cllr Mark Townsend.

The new waste transfer station (WTS) on Widow Hill Road is required because Lancashire County Council’s contract with SUEZ to use the Whinney Hill site near Accrington is ending in March.

Cllr Townsend said the process of approving the scheme – which he had opposed over smells and nuisance to nearby residents – by the executive back in August was flawed.

Opening a 90-minute debate on the issue at Burnley Town Hall, he said there had been no adequate consultation before the decision, no proper transparency about the process, that not all the alternatives for handling the borough’s waste had been considered and no proper business case for the new WTS had been made to show it was ‘the most economically advantageous option’.

The authority’s Liberal Democrat environment boss, Cllr Howard Baker, responded by saying that executive was not legally required to consult on the decision and that this would take place after a planning application for the project was submitted.

Asked specifically by Labour’s Cllr Gemma Haigh if the WTS proposal would go before Burnley Council’s development control committee, he replied: “Yes”.

Cllr Baker said other options – including using the authority’s Queen’s Park depot, an existing WTS at Regent Street Colne and the SUEZ site in Darwen – had all proved ‘infeasible’.

In response to Cllr Townsend’s concerns that the decision would ‘hamstring’ any future council created by devolution-related local government reorganisation, the borough’s Burnley Independent Group leader, Cllr Afasiab Anwar, said the executive could not do nothing as it had to ensure residents’ waste was properly disposed of.

Former mayor and Burnley Independent Group’s Cllr Shah Hussain moved that the committee refer the decision back to the executive for reconsideration, which was passed by six votes to five with committee chair and Conservative group leader Cllr Jamie McGowan abstaining.

After the meeting, Cllr Anwar said: “This meeting was supposed to be about the process and although everyone agreed the process was correct, the committee still voted to refer it back.

“The executive will reconsider the decision on the information available on August 13. We will of course look at any additional information that comes to light before we put a recommendation to a full council meeting.”

Cllr Townsend said: “I am pleased. I hope that the executive will come to a different conclusion for the good of residents, but if they come to the same conclusion it needs to be a lot more robust.”

Cllr Hussain said: “This is democracy at work. If people don’t like it, scrutiny committee is there to scrutinise.”

Cllr McGowan added: “I abstained as it would not have been fair as the chair to use my casting vote to deny half of the committee.”