Corby incinerator: Northamptonshire County Council to recommend approval

The county council will make a final decision on the incinerator at a meeting on Tuesday

Plans for an incinerator at a former steel works look set to be given the go-ahead despite objections from nearby heritage sites, schools and a council.

Planning officers at Northamptonshire County Council will recommend approval on Tuesday for a plant at Corby to burn 260,000 tonnes of waste a year.

The developer said this could generate enough energy for most Corby homes.

East Northamptonshire Council opposes the scheme on environmental grounds and heritage concern.

The plant will have two 75m-tall chimneys and an estimated 175 HGV daily trips are planned, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

East Northamptonshire Council said nearby historic estates at Deene Park and Kirby Hall will be "visually impacted".

The Brooke Weston Trust, which runs nearby Corby Business Academy and also Gretton Primary School, is concerned about air quality and pupil health.

Corby Borough Council, which could net £900,000 a year in business rates, has not objected.

Public Health England said it had no significant concerns regarding a health risk, providing all appropriate measures are taken "to prevent or control pollution".

County council officers said the planning committee should consider if the scheme is in line with the Local Plan and whether landscape, traffic and environment impacts can be "adequately and appropriately mitigated and controlled".

Corby Conservative MP Tom Pursglove presented to Parliament a 1,500-signature petition against the scheme and Labour constituency candidate Beth Miller is now calling on the committee to delay its decision on Tuesday.