Campaigners have lost their fight against plans to build a waste-fuelled sustainable energy plant at Kemsley Mill.

Concerns were raised by Bobbing and Iwade parish councils that the plant would lead to an increase in traffic on local roads and the impact it would have on air quality.

Twenty-two letters from individuals objecting to the proposed development were also received.

But members of Kent County Council's (KCC) planning committee voted in favour of the application subject to recommendations when they met at County Hall in Maidstone on Tuesday. These cover, among other matters, hours of working, vehicle movements, noise restrictions, fuel storage and investigating the possibility of transporting waste by rail or water instead of road.

Graham Herbert, chairman of Bobbing Parish Council, said: "Our biggest issue is the traffic - the roads just can't cope. We've just held a meeting so we will raise the matter at the next month's meeting."

The plans submitted by mill owner St Regis Paper Company Limited and energy company E.ON, show the plant will take 550,000 tonnes of pre-treated waste a year to create heat and power for the mill which employs 800. The facility would also run alongside the site's gas-fired combined heat and power plant and smaller paper sludge combustor, which E.ON also runs.

A permit from the Environment Agency is needed before the plant is allowed to operate but it is hoped building work will start in spring 2013 with completion scheduled for 2016.

It's estimated that 50 full-time jobs will be created and that an average of 100 contractors would be employed for planned shutdowns.

Nader Bahri, director for E.ON's energy from waste business in the UK, said: "This is an important step forward for the project but it is still an early stage in the development process.

"We will continue to work with local residents to make sure they are fully informed and any questions can be answered."