Devonport incinerator advice sought by council leader

If built, the plant will burn 250,000 tonnes of waste a year

Plymouth council's leader has called for legal advisers to look into an incinerator contract to see if its location can be changed.

Planning permission for the waste-to-energy plant at Devonport North Yard was granted last year.

Some residents have concerns about potential health risks. Developers said they would work with locals.

Labour authority leader Tudor Evans said he did not object to the project, only to its planned location.

German company MVV Devonport Ltd was awarded the contract to build the waste-to-plant by the city's previous Conservative administration.

Judicial review refused

It said the plant would burn 250,000 tonnes of waste a year, producing enough energy to power about 37,000 homes.

The facility would be 62m (200ft) from the nearest house, it added.

Mr Evans has put forward a motion to be debated by the council, which, if approved, would allow experts in planning and contract law to look at the 3,600-page agreement to see if it could be altered.

Protest group PlymWIN argues the previous Conservative council's decision to grant permission was "unlawful" because it breached the EU Habitats Directive.

The group was refused a judicial review by the Court of Appeal earlier this month.

The Environment Agency granted the project an environmental permit stating it would not "significantly" pollute the environment or harm human health.