WHAT price a principle? This is the question that Norton residents must ask themselves in the run-up to this Thursday's crucial parish council meeting at which the vexed issue of the recycling plant will once again be debated.

The nub of the matter is this. The council needs residents to indicate whether or not they are prepared to continue the battle against plans for the centre in the village's Woodbury Lane. If that is the case, then it will cost hard cash - a doubling of the existing £26 precept for a Band D property to be precise.

In plain terms, it adds up to an extra 50p a week for householders to put their money where their mouths reside. However, the matter will not necessarily end there, for if the county approves the plans, a protracted legal tussle could well ensue.

This newspaper has no problem with citizens who defend their own corners of this green and pleasant land. Indeed, we feel that the much over-used term nimbyism' is a cliche that over-simpliflies the very real concerns of ordinary people when faced with the conflicting interests of large and powerful organisations.

Nevertheless, sites like the one proposed by Mercia Waste Management have to go somethere. Across Britain, green issues and the threat of climate change are now at the top of the political agenda. Such sentiments could well combine to form an unstoppable tide that ultimately overwhelms opponents.

But at the moment, we're talking about small change. How long this stays the case depends on the fortitude of Norton villagers.