Ex-Yorkshire Forward boss urges waste site probe
THE former Chairman of the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward, has appealed to the Environment Secretary to investigate controversial plans to develop a multi-million pound waste incinerator in North Yorkshire.
North Yorkshire County Council are thought to favour three possible sites for the incinerator which would handle 450,000 tonnes of waste a year from the whole of the county.
They are Dalton near Thirsk, Burn Airfield near Selby, and Allerton Park Quarry.
Public meetings have been held over the last few weeks in villages surrounding Allerton Park with angry villagers concerned about the possible implications if the latter site is chosen.
Sir Graham Hall, who was the inaugural Chairman of Yorkshire Forward now lives in Green Hammerton, one of the villages close to Allerton and has written to the Environment Secretary and Yorkshire MP Hilary Benn asking him to use his powers to intervene to “bring some sanity into these critical investment decisions which will have a major environmental impact on North Yorkshire for generations to come.”
He has also told the Minister that North Yorkshire County Council has not carried out a consultation with either the local parish councils or the residents, and claims that now residents are finding out about the plans they are “not surprisingly incandescent with rage.”
One of the main action groups formed to fight the plans – DISC (Dalton Incinerator Steering Committee) – is planning further public meetings to inform people about the implications of the incinerator.
Chair David Andrews said this was an issue involving everyone in the county.
“We believe in transparency – large amounts of money are about to be wasted in North Yorkshire by yet more politicians who have no concern for ratepayers,” he said.
“We accept you can’t continue to put waste into the land, but burning it has potentially far more serious consequences for people and the environment, not just in our lifetime but for generations to come.
“This is arguably one of the single most important decisions North Yorkshire County Council will make and we want to make sure that the decision is not based on finance or politics, but on the really important issues of health, the environment, and our livelihoods”
Mr Andrews argues incineration should be a last resort, not a first resort.
“Only this week we have learnt that in Lancashire the Waste Collection and Disposal Authorities have decided to move away from incineration to what they have called ‘more sustainable and environmentally acceptable treatment methods’.
“If an authority as large as Lancashire have taken that decision then at the very least North Yorkshire should be examining the alternatives that do exist.
“This is a county that depends on agriculture and tourism as two of its main industries and tax generators. The plans for a massive incinerator could effectively undermine both”, he said.
* The next protest meeting being organised by DISC will be held next Tuesday, May 26 at 7.45pm at the Coronation Hall, Boroughbridge. Anyone concerned is urged to attend.
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Weather for Harrogate
Thursday 24 May 2012
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