THE owners of Murfitt s Industries in Littleport have NOT applied for permission to restart their business at the site, the county council has confirmed to the Ely Standard. Reports have circulated during the past week suggesting that the owners of the ru

THE owners of Murfitt's Industries in Littleport have NOT applied for permission to restart their business at the site, the county council has confirmed to the Ely Standard.

Reports have circulated during the past week suggesting that the owners of the rubber recycling plant on Wisbech Road had applied for permission to begin recycling tyres at the site again.

Murfitts has been closed since August last year when 200 tonnes of rubber material caught fire, causing huge plumes of smoke to billow from the site for weeks.

Fire crews battled for almost two months to extinguish the blaze, which devastated much of the surrounding vegetation as well as the buildings.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) moved to quash the rumours however, confirming that no application had yet been received by officers.

The site itself is still subject to investigations being carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency.

Both organisations are overseeing the clear-up of the site as well as investigating the causes and consequences of the incident itself.

This photograph was taken on Tuesday afternoon and shows the devastation of the site at Murffitts Industries in Littleport.

Photo: HELEN DRAKE.