Wiltshire council to pay developers after legal fight

Northacre won an appeal case for the approval of the controversial incinerator on 21 February

Wiltshire Council has been ordered to pay the developers of the Westbury incinerator after a legal battle.

The council said it had spent almost £200k in legal fees to fight the plan.

Now an extra bill must be paid for causing "unnecessary expense" to the developers Northacre Energy Renewables.

The council said it was waiting for Northacre to determine costs. In a planning appeal, costs are awarded if one side has cost the other unnecessary expense by "behaving unreasonably".

The inspector said in his report the council acted unreasonably by arguing the development plan was out of date and therefore could not be used to support the incinerator.

The inspector said they found no reason to consider the development plan out of date.

They also said the council's presentation of "unrealistic" scenarios constituted unreasonable behaviour.

Cabinet member for strategic planning Nick Botterill said: "There was significant opposition to this application, and the appeal process provided opportunity for these to be fully aired.

"We felt that it was important for the people of Westbury and the surrounding areas that we defended this issue at appeal."

Northacre was approached for comment.