Gloucestershire waste incinerator project 'called-in'

Plans to build a giant incinerator for non-recyclable waste in Gloucestershire have been called-in for review.

Earlier this month, the Conservative-controlled cabinet backed the scheme for Javelin Park and short-listed two contractors to refine their proposals.

The opposition Liberal Democrat group has said the decision process was "flawed" and have asked the overview and scrutiny committee to investigate.

The cross-party committee will examine the allegations in the next few weeks.

It is estimated the burner would generate enough electricity to power 28,000 homes and save the council £150m over 25 years in landfill operation costs.

But the Liberal Democrats said incineration was not the best "ecological solution or the best long-term economic solution".

Last year more than 5,000 people signed a petition opposing the plans.

The £92m plan had been under review after fears it could be scrapped as part of government spending cuts.

Councillor Bill Crowther, Lib Dem spokesman for waste and green issues, said: "There was no clear comparison between alternative technologies.

"It didn't actually show, when they did their review, what the outcome of affordability was, so we feel the whole process was flawed at that stage and wasn't properly done."

But councillor Stan Waddington, cabinet member for environment and waste, said: "It's the one technology that does what it says on the tin.

"I'm afraid the other technologies, which I was very interested in, have not proved successful, so I could not recommend an alternative technology to cabinet."