Delight as Norfolk Council leaders says it will oppose Wisbech incinerator plans
Campaigners fighting plans for a mega incinerator in Wisbech have welcomed news a second county council will now oppose the project.
Norfolk County Council has faced months of pressure to add their voice to that of other local authorities including Cambridgeshire County Council in opposing the plans by MVV Environment Ltd to build a 54 mega watt incinerator on land off Algores Way.
Now, in a written answer to a question put to a meeting of Norfolk's cabinet on Tuesday, the council's leader Andrew Proctor said they would be stating their opposition to the Wisbech burner.
The news has been warmly welcomed by members of campaign group Wisbech Without Incineration, and leading campaigner Ginny Bucknor, who together with other opponents staged a protest outside Norfolk County Council's headquarters at the end of March, said: "We took our campaign to Norfolk County Council and had a meeting last week with King's Lynn Borough Council. This gave us an opportunity to discuss the appalling impact this mega incinerator would have on a very wide population in both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
“The WisWIN campaign team are delighted at Norfolk County Council's decision. We hope this means that the company proposing to build one of the largest incinerators in Europe in our small market town cannot expect contracts from either Norfolk or Cambridgeshire and therefore there will be no need for their 'service'.”
News of Norfolk's planned opposition came in response to a question from West Norfolk Council leader Stuart dark who raised the "ongoing serious concern that many local residents have" about the proposal.
In response to Mr Dark, Councillor Proctor said: "I’m aware that a Development Consent Order application for this facility is due to be submitted to the Secretary of State soon and once received the County Council will give its response as a statutory consultee.
"But I do understand the serious concerns being raised by local residents about this.
"As part of the regular dialogue between Cllr Dark and myself it has been emphasised that the current capacity of the waste disposal chain is sufficient, and there are ambitious environmental plans to reduce waste levels across King’s Lynn and West Norfolk in future years.
"Based on this information as a consequence the County Council can, and will be, stating its opposition to the proposed energy from waste facility in Wisbech."
West Norfolk Borough Council has already already said it will oppose the incinerator plan, together with the Fenland district and Cambridgeshire county authorities and Wisbech Town Council.
However, a final decision on whether the plan should go ahead will be taken at central government level, because of the size of the proposal.
In a statement released after the meeting, Mr Dark said: “This is great news. We are united with our residents in opposition to this proposal and we have been working hard to gain support from partners.
“We have been speaking with the leadership of the county council regarding the issues and our position, and this answer shows that our work behind the scenes has paid off.”
