PLANS to build an oil re-refinery in Eastham are to be decided by the Secretary of State due to their “national importance”, meaning Wirral Council will not have the final say.

Hydrodec Group wants to develop a re-refinery plant at Eastham Locks on land next to the QE2 Dock and the Nustar terminal, and is currently preparing a planning application with consultants Indigo Planning.

The company said the plant would re-introduce of base oil to Wirral and would be the new home of its European headquarters.

If approved, work will take approximately 12-18 months to complete the first phase of the development and the plan is for the plant to be operational by the end of 2016.

The plant will create jobs for around 40 people including office workers, shift workers, security staff and roles of a specialist nature.

If approved, MSC Eastham's football pitch will be moved to upgraded facilities at a site in Bromborough Pool, approximately two miles north of the site.

A public exhibition of the proposals was held at Eastham Golf Club in February, where residents raised a number of concerns, including how close the site was to homes on nearby Seaview Avenue.

Plans were due to be submitted to Wirral Council but it has since emerged that it will be up to the Government to approve the scheme.

In a letter sent out to residents this week, Hydrodec’s head of re-refining Ian Lees said: “In view of the proposed nature and scale of the proposal, we are advised that it will constitute a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP).

“As such, given its national importance, it will be necessary for the application to be determined by the Secretary of State.”

“We consider that the NSIP planning process has a number of clear benefits to residents, the first of which is a defined framework for community consultation.”

The NSIP is a statutory framework which engages with all people with an interest in a planning proposal with clearly defined opportunities for the community to be consulted and contribute to the process.

Wirral Council, as well as other local authorities and statutory consultees such as the Environment Agency, all have an opportunity to be involved.

Mr Lees added: “Further, we wanted to reassure you that your valued feedback to date will be taken into account as part of this formal consultation process and will continue to inform our proposals as they are further developed and refined.”

A meeting to discuss the proposals was postponed last week to give all parties “more time to prepare”.

Local councillor Chris Carubia said Hydrodec sent out 1,300 letters informing residents about the meeting at a venue which can only hold 250 people.

Places were on a first-come-first-served basis and questions had to be pre-submitted.

Cllr Carubia said: “I think Hydodec have cancelled the meeting because they totally misgauged the feeling of the populous of Eastham.”

More than 1,400 people have signed an online petition opposing the plans.

The application will now go to the Planning Inspectorate for approval.

For more information on the plans, visit qe2docks.com or to sign the petition, click here.