TWO contractors have been short-listed to build Suffolk's controversial incinerator on a site in Great Blakenham on the outskirts of Ipswich.The county council expects to receive a Government subsidy of �102million under the private finance initiative for the project, which is scheduled to become operation by the end of 2014.

Graham Dines

TWO contractors have been short-listed to build Suffolk's controversial incinerator on a site in Great Blakenham on the outskirts of Ipswich.

The county council expects to receive a Government subsidy of �102million under the private finance initiative for the project, which is scheduled to become operationAL by the end of 2014.

Lisa Chambers, the council's portfolio holder for waste, said incineration - which goes under the title “energy from waste” - was a tried and tested technology, environmentally sound, and was the most effective method of diverting rubbish from landfill.

It is expected the Government will want to approve the plans, and a timetable has been proposed which allows for any possible public inquiry.

The Liberal Democrats have launched an online petition against the project, which they claim will also be used to dispose of London's waste.

The group's leader Kathy Pollard has demanded that a public in inquiry must be held. “The Conservative run county council prefers incineration as its technology of choice; this is without consulting the public on what they believe is the best option.”

The shortlisted companies are Sita UK and Veolia ES Aurora Ltd, both of which have built and operated energy from waste facilities throughout Europe. The site at Great Blakenham is currently the county council's highways depot.