Portland power plant: Campaigners march against £100m plan

Protesters marched to Portland Port in protest against plans to build an incinerator

Campaigners have marched in protest against plans to build a £100m power plant on the Jurassic Coast.

Development company Powerfuel Portland has submitted a planning application to build the facility in Portland, Dorset.

More than 6,500 people have signed a petition in objection, and protesters said the World Heritage Site was an inappropriate location for the plant.

Powerfuel Portland has said it would be built on brownfield land which already has consent for a power plant.

Protesters from the Stop Portland Waste Incinerator campaign met at the green in Victoria Square before marching to Portland Port.

They held placards saying "What about my right to fresh air?" and "We want a solution, not pollution".

Ian Broadhurst was among those unhappy with the proposals to build the plant

Portland resident Ian Broadhurst told the BBC he had been left "annoyed" by the proposal because the council had objected to a wind farm being built in the bay.

"We were told then that if we didn't get behind [the wind farm] something worse would come along - and now it has," he said.

Campaigner Lucy Grieve added that the hundreds of tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted from the plant every day would damage the environment.

Others described the proposal as an "eyesore" and said it would "create a big, unsightly blot on our beautiful landscape and coast".

The power plant would be built within Portland Port

Powerfuel Portland could not be reached for comment but has previously said there is a shortage of waste facilities in Dorset and that the plans would create jobs and power 30,000 homes.

The planned site is on the north-eastern corner of Portland on land owned by Portland Port, and has planning consent for an energy plant, which would have used either vegetable oil or waste rubber crumb from tyres, Powerfuel Portland said.

The company has now submitted a planning application to be reviewed by Dorset Council.

Protesters marched to Portland Port on Saturday