Petitions had been sent to Wrexham Council

The proposal by Portuguese developers HLC has been dogged by criticism with people fearing the facility at the Wrexham Industrial Estate, will have massive health implications.

Now, the minister will have the final say on whether the plan gets the green light.

In January, a petition with around 13,000 signatures from opponents was handed in to the local authority.

It has claimed improvements have to be made for waste collection in the county.

Controversial Scheme

Currently, around 96% of waste in Wrexham goes to landfill sites - 3% is recycled.

HLC has said the new plant could deal with 120,000 tonnes of waste each year.

There's a considerable amount of concern and this is a big issue

Bob Dutton, councillor

They claim around 40% would be composted or recycled, and approximately 40% of the remaining waste would be combusted and turned into energy.

The assembly's decision on Monday to review the plans follows calls by independent councillors in Wrexham to drop the scheme.

Leader of the group, Councillor Bob Dutton said: "We are concerned about the problems with the incinerator - we don't think the council should go any further with the procurement of an incinerator.

"There is a considerable amount of concern and as far as Wrexham is concerned, this is a big issue," he said.

Last month, Wrexham AM John Marek told campaigners against the incinerator he would take up their fight with Sue Essex.

He said he would recommend that she called in the controversial scheme.