Incinerator plans for the Isle of Jersey have been challenged by the incoming administration. A video of the self-styled ‘Incinerator Gang’ shows Deputy Daniel Wimberley burning a pound note to symbolise the burning of money represented by Jersey’s incinerator plans. The accompanying article explains:
Jersey doesn’t need a new incinerator and the plans States members have already accepted need rethinking. That’s the view of a group of politicians who are calling for the plans to be scrapped.
One of Guy de Faye’s last acts as Transport and Technical Services Minister was signing the contract for a new waste incinerator to replace the existing facility at Bellozanne back in November. The deal was worth more than a £100 million and will see the new incinerator come on line in 2011.
The new incinerator will burn people’s money as well as their rubbish, according to a collection of States members calling themselves, a bit misleadingly, the Incinerator Gang.
The Jersey Evening Post reports:
Ministers have been accused of trying to sneak around environmental treaties to get the new incinerator built at La Collette. During ministers’ questions on Tuesday, Deputy Daniel Wimberley said that there was ‘widespread suspicion’ that the Environment department did not discuss the matter with the Ramsar governing body because they did not want them to know about it.
The wetlands up to Havre des Pas are protected by the international Ramsar treaty right up to the point where the proposed £100 million-plus incinerator would be built.
In a further article we read the following:
“The world is changing, people’s expectations are changing, ways of doing things are changing,” said Deputy Wimberley. “We are fearful that the incinerator is over-sized, it is out of step with public opinion and it is a waste of public money.”
Deputy Higgins is quoted as saying:
It is more than likely that the plant will have a serious cost overrun. The failure to hedge the contract against adverse currency movements could easily cost the Island an additional £10 million. I want to know what financial advice was given, who gave it and whether it was followed.
http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/02/14/incinerator-group-horrified-by-44m-consultancy-costs/
Incinerator group horrified by £4.4m consultancy costs
By Harry McRandle
A STATES department has spent over £4.4 million paying consultants since the start of ministerial government, according to a group of politicians trying to stop the new incinerator being built.
And the spokesman for the Stop the Incinerator Now Group, Deputy Trevor Pitman, said that the Transport and Technical Services Department might as well be burning taxpayers’ cash in the new incinerator the way it has spent on external consultancy fees.
The Deputy, a member of the STING group of four politicians, was ‘horrified’ when he eventually obtained figures from the new Transport Minister Mike Jackson for work done by consultants on the solid waste strategy.
He said that STING now wanted an inquiry to find out exactly what the huge sums had been spent on.
Deputy Pitman added that he had to push for the numbers to be publicly released after an initial request by Deputy Daniel Wimberley had been ‘overlooked’.
Article posted to http://www.thisisjersey.com on 14th February, 2009 – 9.55am