'Monstrous' Harewood waste incinerator plan scrapped

It was planned for the incinerator to convert 500,000 tonnes of waste into energy, its operators said

A developer has scrapped plans to build an incinerator which protesters previously described as "monstrous".

US firm Wheelabrator said the site at Harewood, near Andover in Hampshire, would have been able to process up to 500,000 tonnes of waste per year.

However, it said it had decided to pull the project following a "strategic review" and will now focus on its business elsewhere in the UK.

Campaign group Keep Test Valley Beautiful said it was "over the moon".

The protesters had argued the site would require about 400 lorry movements per day and that two options provided for scaled-down designs were "like asking us if we want to be hanged or shot".

The industrial plant would have been built on land near Longparish, Hampshire

In a statement, the group said it was "delighted and relieved" by Wheelabrator's decision.

It added: "It is wonderful news that we can now go forward without the threat of this inappropriate and damaging project hanging over our heads.

"Today has been a great day - not just for local residents, but for the Test Valley itself and its rare and precious ecology and habitats."

Paul Green, Wheelabrator's vice president for business development, said: "Wheelabrator would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide feedback as part of our recent community consultations."

He added that the "waste-to-energy market is extremely buoyant" and the firm would continue to focus on its other projects in the UK.

Wheelabrator opened its first UK waste-to-energy plant at Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire, in 2015, and is building further plants at Kemsley, Kent, and Parc Adfer, Deeside.