Village incinerator plans get go-ahead

Controversial plans for a £120 million incinerator in a Midland village have been given the go-ahead today despite an outcry from residents.

About 140 locals packed into a meeting to see councillors approve the proposals for the EnviRecover plant at Hartlebury Trading Estate near Kidderminster.

The Worcestershire residents Against Incineration and Landfill (WAIL) protest group put its case against the plans at the meeting at County Hall in Worcester.

But all 14 members of Worcestershire County Council's planning committee voted to approve the development.

They said the plant, which will burn 200,000 tonnes of household rubbish a year, would be an important part of the county's waste management.

Secretary of State for the Environment Eric Pickles must now rubber-stamp the plans before work can begin.

A crowd of more than 100 residents congregated outside the meeting today with placards and banners as councillors arrived.

They had all travelled there on coaches arranged by the protest group.

The WAIL committee has been fighting against the application for the Hartlebury Trading Estate since EnviRecover submitted it to Wyre Forest District Council in April last year.

They submitted a 500-page dossier of objections, put together using £10,000 generated at fund-raising events.

Planning and legal consultants were drafted in to help the fight, with local parish councils uniting with Wychavon District Council and MP Peter Luff.

They fear it will create an increase in noise and pollution from lorries delivering waste and claim that it will overshadow its surroundings.

Mr Kirby told the meeting: "This will be a costly white elephant. The energy savings are being overestimated and the local area will be ruined by this development."

But Councillor Tom Bean said: "I have listened to the arguments and I am happy to approve the plans."

Read the full story in tomorrow's Express & Star