Members of Broxbourne Council's Planning and Licensing Committee toured NI's northern production site, which is near Liverpool.

A statement from the council said that the trip "would enable members of the council to assess, at first hand, a similar existing plant" to the one planned for Waltham Cross's Park Plaza, which will replace NI's infamous Wapping site.

Local residents are waging a fierce campaign against the new plant, which they fear will be noisy and will devalue property in the area.

Maria Mendrys, of the Park Plaza Action Group, was angry about the trip. "No one on the planning committee has approached us regarding our objections. Perhaps I should invite them to a tea party," she said.

Objections from residents have already forced NI to revise plans for the site. A decision is expected on the plans at a planning committee meeting next Tuesday (2 August).

Story by Josh Brooks