Controversial Consett incinerator plans rejected

More than 3,500 people opposed the incinerator plan

A controversial plan for an incinerator which objectors feared would blot the landscape with a 164ft-high (50m) chimney stack has been rejected.

More than 3,500 people objected to Project Genesis' scheme for the former steelworks in Templetown, Consett.

The company said the £35m project would burn waste to create renewable energy.

Durham County Council's planning committee unanimously rejected the plan and concluded it would have an "unacceptable" impact.

The energy plant was intended to operate 24 hours a day treating up to 60,000 tonnes of waste per year, with 22 HGV movements per weekday and creating nine full-time jobs.

Project Genesis said it would prevent rubbish from being buried in landfill sites and generate cheap, environmentally friendly power, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Unacceptable impact'

Christine Thomas from Say No To Consett Incinerator said: "This kind of industry should not be at the heart on Consett. It no longer belongs there."

Dominic Haney, councillor for Consett South, said it would have a "devastating impact on Consett's beautiful rural skyline" while Consett North councillor Kathryn Rooney said it would "destroy the local environment".

Nine people had written in favour of the scheme while Alex Watson, councillor for Consett North, said he supported it "very strongly because it's right for the area" with the incinerator on an industrial estate that would be well-screened from most views.

Planning officers considered possible harm from emissions and found the plant could operate safely.

But senior planning officer Chris Shields said the scale of the development would cause "a significant and unacceptable landscape impact".