Council abandons legal challenge over incinerator

There has been local opposition to the proposed incinerator in Wisbech, near the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border

A council opposed to the building of a waste incinerator has given up its legal battle days after a judge rejected its application for a judicial review.

Fenland District Council wanted to challenge a decision awarding development consent for the proposed Wisbech incinerator, but its application was turned down last week.

The council said legal advisers had confirmed there were "no further realistic grounds" to oppose the incinerator by a judicial review.

MVV Environment, the company behind the plan, said it was "pleased with the outcome" of the judge's decision, while the council said it was "deeply disappointed".

The waste incinerator would be built in an industrial part of Wisbech

The proposed waste-to-energy incinerator on the Algores Way industrial estate in Wisbech, near the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border, was granted development consent in February and an environmental permit in May.

The permit allows MVV to operate an incinerator with a capacity of up to 625,600 tonnes a year, including non-hazardous household, commercial and industrial waste.

The council said the High Court judge, in denying its application, recognised "several deficiencies" in former secretary of state Claire Coutinho's decision to approve the incinerator.

'Great sadness'

Councillors passed an urgent motion to instruct barristers to see if there were any other options, but it became "very clear" that this would not be possible.

A group of councillors including leader Chris Boden and Wisbech members Steve Tierney, Susan Wallwork and Sam Hoy said they felt "great sadness" over the decision.

"We owed it to the people of Wisbech and Fenland to do everything in our power to attempt to overturn this decision and stop the incinerator from going ahead, and that is what we have done," they said.

The councillors said they would "work tirelessly" to represent people in the community and minimise the impact of the incinerator.

MVV Environment said the facility would be state-of-the-art, and it has promised to be a "good neighbour" to the local community.