Plans to build an incinerator in Newhaven, East Sussex, will be put under the legal spotlight on Monday (21 July 2008) after the High Court granted an urgent hearing for a case filed by Lewes District Friends of the Earth.
The local Friends of the Earth group has applied for a judicial review because the planning committee which considered the proposal for the incinerator ignored long term regional recycling targets. Judicial review is the court procedure used to challenge the lawfulness of public authority decisions.
East Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council currently recycle less than 30 per cent of their household waste. Both have a regional target to recycle 60 per cent of their waste by 2025. Building this incinerator will encourage more rubbish to be burnt, making it much harder to reach the target.
The incinerator generated more public comments than any planning application ever considered by East Sussex County Council and has been strongly opposed by local residents. More than 15,000 letters containing a range of objections were sent to the council by local residents and public authorities concerned about its environmental impact.
Recycling saves greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the need to extract and process materials which can be used again, such as glass, paper and plastic. Incinerators that produce electricity from waste emit around a third more fossil fuel-derived carbon dioxide than a gas-fired power station.
Phil Michaels, Head of Legal at Friends of the Earth and solicitor for the local group, said:
“We’re really pleased that this hugely important case is being heard urgently by the High Court. Building the Newhaven incinerator is at complete odds with the region’s long term recycling targets – and will result in waste being burnt which could and should be recycled.”
Alison Walters, spokesperson for Lewes District Friends of the Earth, said:
“Local people are up in arms about this development. Incineration wastes valuable resources that could be recycled or composted, and contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. We hope the High Court quashes planning permission for the Newhaven Incinerator and that East Sussex and Brighton and Hove councils focus their efforts on reducing, recycling and composting waste instead.”
Source: FoE Press Release
