A COUNCILLOR fears his colleagues are not qualified to vote on plans to increase the variety of hazardous substances on Canvey.

Neville Watson, a Canvey Independent Party councillor, says no one involved in the decision making process has received enough information or training to make an informed decision.

Oikos bosses have applied to Castle Point Council to store a wider range of fuels and chemicals at its plant off Haven Road, Canvey.

The application, made ten months ago, will finally be considered by councillors on the planning committee tomorrow.

Mr Watson, who is not on the committee so cannot vote, e-mailed senior planning officer Steve Rogers to ask if councillors on the committee or officers advising them had attended external courses on the potential dangers of substances Oikos wants to store and the safest way to contain them.

In an e-mailed response, Mr Rogers wrote: “I’m not aware of any member or officer attending a specific course on planning and hazardous substances, but I devoted an entire training session to this earlier this year.”

Mr Watson said: “There are no officers or councillors in Castle Point who are qualified to make a judgement on this.

“It’s not like they are approving a three-bedroom house. We are talking about a large amount of potentially flammable liquids.”

He also questioned the fact most of the technical information for the application had been supplied by Oikos.

He believes the council should have carried out its own independent report, despite the Health and Safety Executive recommending it is approved.

George Whatley, from the People Against Methane pressure group, is also concerned Castle Point Council does not have a qualified hazardous substances officer.

This is despite a report, set up after the Buncefield explosion in 2005, recommending councils should have expertise on the issue.

It stated: “Local planning authorities and the administrations responsible for them should ensure the necessary expertise and other resources are available to implement the revised planning system around major hazard sites.”

Mr Rogers said: “We rely on the Health and Safety Executive, who are the experts in this area, for guidance on the issue.

“This is a perfectly reasonable course of action and we seek guidance from other external bodies for expert advice in other areas. We don’t need a hazardous substances officer.”