Lib Dem fury at incinerator plan

12.17.22pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 24th Nov 2005

Local Lib Dems and residents of Newhaven are becoming increasingly concerned over Conservative council plans to build a waste incinerator in Newhaven. The incinerator, intended to process waste from nearby Brighton and Hove, is set to deal with 210,000 tonnes of rubbish a year. The application for planning permission to build the incinerator coincides with an announcement from the Environment Agency that two landfill sites set to close in 2008 may be set to shut a year early.

Plans for the new incinerator are supported by the Tory- run County Council, as part of the council's waste plan. Local residents are angry with the lack of concern shown by the Conservatives regarding the incinerator's potential impact on the local community.

County Councillor Pat Ost said;

"Lib Dem county councillors have been opposed to the incinerator from day one. We feel that the local residents are justified in their concerns and are outraged at the Tories support of this idea. There are other means of waste disposal and we do not believe that a measure as extreme as an incinerator is yet needed."

"Local residents should feel assured that the Liberal Democrats will fight this proposal every step of the way. We will do everything in our power to stop this ill-conceived project from being realised,"