West Norfolk Council to consider Wisbech legal fight support
The company behind the plant wants to burn 500,000 tonnes of waste a year at Algores Way
A Norfolk council has been urged to back a legal fight against controversial plans to build a 625,000-tonne incinerator close to the county’s border.
A motion has been put forward to West Norfolk Council members calling for the authority to support Fenland District Council in its battle against plans to build the huge facility in Wisbech.
MVV, the company behind the plant, wants to burn 500,000 tonnes of waste a year at Algores Way, off Weasenham Lane – a site close to a number of schools and land earmarked for hundreds of homes.
It follows the decision last week for the Cambridgeshire council to “expend all possible energies” on reviewing the Secretary of State’s approval of the facility.
Councillor Alexandra Kemp has proposed a motion urging the council to “play a full part” in the legal battle to stop it being built.
She said: “The government’s decision to grant consent for the development must be reversed or it will bring a legacy of trouble to west Norfolk.
“Recent studies by the All Parliamentary Group on Air Pollution indicate incinerator emissions put farm produce and children’s health at risk. The council must now play its full part in a judicial review.”
The bid to build the Wisbech incinerator has drawn a swell of opposition from hundreds of locals and action groups, leading to a campaign against it.
Many people worry about the effect it will have on the lives of locals and the environmental impact.
Norfolk County Council has also publically opposed the plans.
Last week, Councillor Chris Boden, leader of Fenland District Council, announced that the authority had instructed infrastructure barristers to research if there are any legal grounds on which a judicial review could be launched.
A judicial review is the only option available following the Secretary of State’s decision, which will aim to show it has been made “irrationally and/or without proper process having been followed”.
West Norfolk councillors will meet on Thursday to discuss the matter at a full council meeting.