St Dennis waste incinerator work to begin

Work on a waste incinerator for Cornwall could start within days, after the council's cabinet voted to spend up to £4m on starting the project.

The cabinet voted unanimously to start work on land acquisition and an access road at St Dennis.

The energy-from-waste plant was granted planning permission in June after Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles allowed an appeal by waste firm Sita.

The former Cornwall County Council had refused planning permission.

Cornwall Council, which was created as a unitary authority in April 2009, had urged Mr Pickles to back the plans.

Pat Blanchard, from the anti-incinerator action group STIG, said: "I don't think we can say we've been defeated.

"We've sought to raise awareness of waste issues throughout the county and get ordinary people to voice their fears and concerns."

"From that point of view I can't say our campaign has failed," she added.

Alec Robertson, leader of the Conservative-Independent-run authority, said it would lose £320m if the plan did not go ahead because of costs such as cancelled contracts.