Plans for a controversial incinerator in Beddington have been submitted to Sutton Council.

Last week the council received the application from waste company Viridor to build an energy from waste facility on its landfill and waste management site in Beddington Lane.

Details of the application are not yet available from the council because the application is still being verified.

But Viridor has said during its consultation on the plans its facility would burn 275,000 tonnes of waste each year.

The £200m facility would handle not only waste from Sutton, Croydon, Kingston, and Merton, but also large amounts of business waste.

Viridor said earlier this year the facility would have an 100m chimney stack, from which emissions from burning the waste will be released after filtering.

Campaigners are concerned the incinerator could release harmful emissions into the atmosphere which would affect the population in the surrounding area.

By burning non-recyclable waste to create steam to power turbines, the incinerator is expected to produce about 30 megawatts of electricity and heat energy, estimated to be enough to power 30,000 homes.

It would be sold back to the national grid, while heat created could be used in homes in the vicinity.

A spokesman for Sutton Council said: "We received a planning application from Viridor for an Energy Recovery Facility in Beddington on July 17. "

"The first step is to validate it, checking that all the required information has been supplied, the form is correct and the correct fee has been paid. "

"If it is validated, Sutton Council will begin the notification process. This involves writing to local people and displaying the application on our website so everyone can have their say."

It is expected to take a further week to validate the application.

The council will then make full details of the application available and launch a public consultation.

The application is not expected to be considered by a Sutton Council planning committee until early next year.

To run the facility, Viridor would also need an environmental permit from the Environment Agency (EA) deeming the facility safe.

The EA expects to receive the full application for the permit within a month.