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Anti-asphalt plant campaigners have been accused of scaremongering by the leader of the Isle of Wight Council.
David Pugh told IW Radio's Tom Stroud that the local authority must follow the proper planning laws when deciding the future of Eurovia Roadstone's proposals for Cowes.
But he has assured listeners that there won't be a party whip on the issue and that councillors on the planning committee will be free to make up their own minds.
Speaking to Tom, Councillor Pugh said: "People are understandably concerned, but we have to take a measured approach to this. I think there are certainly aspects that have come forward during the debate which haven't necessarily been grounded in facts.
"Some of the details that have come to the fore, I think on the campaign website, there is a vast yellow structure which was imposed that this was what it was going to look like. I understand that it's not proposed to look anything like that at all, so there is a certain amount of scaremongering around aspects like that," he added.
In response, anti-asphalt campaign group spokesperson Julia Hill said: "All of the information that we have put out has been well researched and we have no intention of misleading people, just to ensure that they're informed of all of the possibilities."
And Julia added that the image referred to by Councillor Pugh was an early artist's impression. She added: "That image was created very early on and the title was 'an artist's impression of an asphalt plant on the Medina'. It was an artist's impression because there wasn't one available at the time - the applicant didn't provide their own photo until August and the main image that they have used is taken from 300-400 metres away from the direct line of sight from the plant."
Julia concluded: "A quick google search of Asphalt plant and health will tell people what they need to know and WRAP would encourage people to carry out their own research on the issue."
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