A new ghost ships dispute has flared in the North over plans to break up former Royal Navy vessels at a Tyneside dock.
Shipyard bosses will tomorrow meet families who fear a proposal to break up ex-Navy vessels in their town will cause environmental damage.
The A&P yard at Hebburn, South Tyneside, is applying for permission from the Environment Agency to dismantle the ships.
More than 200 householders in the area have signed a petition raising concerns at the plan. But the yard's bosses insist all the work will be done under strict controls and cause no danger to nearby homes.
Campaign group Friends of the Earth said, while there are "real environmental concerns" over the plan, it does not raise the same issues as the dispute in Hartlepool over plans to dismantle American vessels.
A&P is applying, in conjunction with BAE Systems, to the Environment Agency for a Waste Management Licence allowing it to do the work. It will also need to submit an application to South Tyneside Council's planning department.
Managers at the yard hope to receive permission within three months and be able to start shipbreaking work by the autumn.
A&P Tyne facilities and services manager John Leckie said it would safeguard jobs for its 250-strong workforce and could see more workers taken on. A leaflet produced about the application pledges asbestos will be handled by licensed contractors and kept within sealed containers, oils will be stored in special tanks, and toxic substances known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) will be segregated.
Mr Leckie said: "The reassurance we can give is that these are the same ships we have been working on for a long period of time." However, Hebburn councillor Joe Abbott said: "The residents have linked this with the ghost ships in Hartlepool and they have concerns about health.
"Some of the residents' gardens back right on to the sheds at the yard. I think they've got legitimate concerns."
A consultation event will be held tomorrow ahead of the application being made to South Tyneside Council.
