Allerton Park campaigners seek judicial review of incinerator plans

Campaigners want a judicial review of the planning permission that was granted for the site

Campaigners opposed to a waste incinerator near Knaresborough have started legal action to try to get planning permission overturned.

The North Yorkshire Waste Action Group (NYWAG) is seeking a judicial review of the decision to grant planning consent for the plant at Allerton Park.

North Yorkshire County Council said it would "defend any claim robustly".

The government withdrew its private finance initiative (PFI) funding for the project in February.

The proposal for the plant was developed by North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council to reduce the amount of household waste they were sending to landfill.

'Completely unnecessary'

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said it withdrew £65m of PFI funding as the plant was no longer needed to meet EU waste targets.

Bob Schofield from NYWAG said: "The government's decision to withdraw funding because they agreed the scheme is completely unnecessary was a great boost to the campaign.

"But it is vitally important to try to overturn the planning permission because if alternative funding can be identified the scheme could still go ahead."

North Yorkshire County Council said it had received formal notification from solicitors acting on behalf of the campaigners, but said "the grounds of the judicial review have not yet been set out".

The authority added it was currently reviewing the project with the contractor, AmeyCespa, "to ensure the project remains the most cost effective and sustainable solution" for waste management.