Councillors have waved through plans for a waste plant in Cricklewood despite fears it will add to traffic congestion.

The facility, in Geron Way, will handle 195,000 tonnes of waste a year and lead to more than 400 trips to and from the site by heavy goods vehicles every day.

It has been designed to replace a plant in Hendon that is being knocked down as part of Barnet Council’s flagship Brent Cross regeneration scheme.

Cricklewood is already home to a waste facility – PB Donoghue in Claremont Road – and there are plans for a “superhub” processing construction waste at Cricklewood Railway Yard behind 400 Edgware Road.

Anne Clarke, Labour councillor for Child’s Hill, said the move risked turning the area into a “dumping ground for the London Borough of Barnet”.

At a meeting of the council’s planning committee on Wednesday (September 5), Cllr Clarke urged members to reject the plans.

She said: “Those of us who live in Cricklewood know what it feels like to live with the negative impacts of a waste site.

“When Barnet Council proposes to add so many new large vehicles to the A5 that it becomes necessary to add three new sets of traffic lights and four signalised junctions within 420 metres, is it any wonder that local residents believe that Barnet wish to sweep all their rubbish onto Cricklewood?

“The waste burden on Cricklewood is already too much. Barnet should have looked for another site.”

But Natalie Edwards, senior programme manager delivering the replacement waste transfer station, said: “Without this facility, it could cost the council an additional £1 million annually and have a greater impact on the local area, with significantly more lorry movements to and from Edmonton.

“Currently, more than 1,500 vehicles daily access the existing Selco site via the A5. These will go once the building is vacated, and our analysis concluded there will be a general improvement to capacity on the A5.”

The plant will include a filtration system to reduce the smell of waste and minimise the impact on air quality.

A transport assessment concluded there would be “no adverse impacts on the highway network as a result of the proposed development”.

The council received three petitions against the waste plant, signed by more than 800 people in total.

Brent Council objected to the plans, along with individual councillors from the borough, citing traffic congestion and pollution among their concerns.

But councillors voted to approve the waste facility, which is considered “integral” to the Brent Cross regeneration.

The site is needed to replace the Hendon facility, which is being demolished to make way for a train station serving the Brent Cross scheme.

It is hoped the early completion of the Thameslink station will boost residential and commercial development on the regeneration site.