Public urged to play their part as incinerator battle reaches last chance saloon

1.31.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 22nd Oct 2007

Council leader Ann de Vecchi and MP Norman Baker demonstrate alternatives to the proposed incinerator

Hailing it as the "last chance to stop the incinerator", Lewes District Council's Liberal Democrats are taking an unusual step. Next month sees a public inquiry into the proposed compulsory purchase of land for the controversial waste incinerator in Newhaven, and in a bid to stop this agreement going ahead, the Lib Dems are urging the public to write to the inquiry's chair, asking her to refuse the deal.

East Sussex County Council has so far failed to reach a 30-year leasing deal for the land at Newhaven's North Quay with the landowners Rockspring Hanover Trust, so the matter now goes to a public inquiry on 13 November. Lib Dems in Lewes have opposed the incinerator from the outset, saying it would be "outdated" and "a highly ineffective use of public money". They describe the inquiry as the last realistic chance to stop the plan hatched between ESCC, Brighton & Hove council and the waste contractor Veolia.

"In theory the inspector in this sort of inquiry doesn't receive correspondence from anyone not directly involved in the case," said Lewes District Council leader Ann de Vecchi. "But the urgent landfill situation, the numerous cases of mismanagement - which could have breached EU rules - and the availability of better alternatives to the incinerator mean we are asking the public to make the inspector aware that there are wider issues at stake than just a land deal."

The Lib Dems have costed alternative waste plans - based on composting, more recycling and mechanical biological treatment - that will be more sustainable and faster to implement than an incinerator.

The next couple of weeks could be nail-biting for all involved, as ESCC can stop the inquiry happening by closing a deal before 13 November. Seaford County Councillor Jon Freeman said: "The County Council are already paying silly money for a 30-year lease that would not even leave us with a freehold at the end of it! If they agree a stitch-up deal before 13 November, it will be a massive kick in the teeth for democracy and another one in the wallet for local taxpayers."

Members of the public can write to the inspector, Mrs Vyse, c/o GOSE, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4GA, quoting reference GOSE105001/ESCC/49678-CPO ESCC (land at North Quay, Newhaven).