Campaigners fighting against long-running plans to build a waste incinerator in Essex are calling on two county MPs to lend their backing to the opposition.
The group Parishes Against INcinerator (PAIN) already has the support of Witham MP Priti Patel in its fight against a proposed incinerator at Rivenhall Airfield, but is urging Braintree MP James Cleverly and Colchester MP Will Quince to get on board with its campaign.
The £500million incinerator was approved back in 2010 – though an application to increase the chimney height remains outstanding – but debates over waste disposal at the airfield site have been raging for 25 years.
Campaigners argue the plant will see extra lorries on the A120 and could mean Essex processes waste from elsewhere in the UK.
They also argue the Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) will create 150,000 tonnes of toxic ash in Essex.
Ms Patel said: “This area has always been unsuitable for this type of facility and the impact of emissions from the site on the environment and on health is very concerning. Residents have my full support in campaigning against this development.”
Coggeshall parish councillor and member of PAIN, Anna Appleton-Claydon, said: “We are feeling quite positive that the council will do something and we have now got people saying to us can we give you money. The next step is to get James Cleverly and Will Quince involved.”
The group believes the environmental and traffic impact will also be felt in the localities represented by the two MPs.
Steve Smith, project spokesman for Gent Fairhead, the company behind the incinerator, said: “The details of this planning application are entirely consistent with the Environmental Permit.
“All other aspects of the proposed development, including the principle of locating the IWMF on this site, are fully approved under the existing (and implemented) planning permission.
“If this application is approved, it will result in change to the existing planning permission to raise the stack by 23m and align the details of the facility’s planning permission to its Environmental Permit.”
A fundraising event for PAIN is being held at Coggeshall Village Hall on February 3. A decision on the plans is not expected in the near future.
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