A further application to continue operating a recycling centre next to a Carpenders Park care home has been submitted a month after the previous bid was thrown out.

Any Skips Limited, the owner of the land at Mayfair Bungalow in Oxhey Lane, is seeking permission from Hertfordshire County Council to change the use of the site from industrial storage to waste management and recycling on the site.

The site is located in the green belt and approximately 150 metres from the Auburn Mere care home.

Residents have previously complained of unauthorised burning of waste on the site said they suffered as a result of the black smoke and an increase in lorries travelling along the busy road.

A similar retrospective application to process around 5,000 tonnes of waste a year was thrown out by the county council on June 25, the new application is seeking shorter working hours of between 7am and 5pm from Monday to Friday and on Saturday between 9am and 1pm.

At the time the council also voted to begin enforcement action to close the site - which began working as a recycling centre last year.

Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst said: "Essentially it is the same application as before, the county council will be opposing it as before.

"The county council is also still progressing with the enforcement action as we do not believe they have overcome the fundamental grounds for refusal.

"It is the fact that it is in the green belt and the noise impact to Auburn Mere residents and to residents of Oxhey."

A noise assessment carried out on behalf of Any Skips Ltd concluded the maximum noise impact on any surrounding residential street would be 56.9dB - 0.1dB below the government benchmark for when aircraft noise becomes "significantly annoying".

The application stressed this noise would be a worst case scenario and that the machinery would be used on an "ad-hoc basis and not continuously".

The application goes on to say: "It is considered that these measures combined with distance to the nearest sites will not lead to unacceptable adverse noise impacts.

"There have been no reported complaints during the past few weeks when weather conditions have favoured outdoor activities and opened windows."

The applicant claims a search of possible alternative sites was conducted but none could be found within five miles of Watford.

They also claim that although the site is in the green belt, it has been used for commercial and industrial purposes for 30 years and the application would represent no further encroachment.

The consultation is due to expire on August 23 and the application is expected to be determined the following month.