10:50am Wednesday 20th May 2009
By Ryan McCarthy

Government minister Hazel Blears has backed hundreds of residents who opposed a waste facility being built in the countryside. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has called in the proposal for Rivenhall Airfield, allowing a public inquiry to be held. The controversial waste management site could be binned if a Government inspector backs opponents to the scheme.

Essex County Council (ECC) granted planning permission last month, despite only one favourable representation out of more than 800 made during public consultations. A letter sent on behalf of Mrs Blears to ECC said: “The Secretary of State is of the opinion that the application is one that she ought to decide herself because she considers that the proposal may conflict with national policies on important matters.”

James Abbott, district councillor for Bradwell, Rivenhall and Silver End, said: “It’s really rewarding because there are times when you lose faith in the system over many issues but this is positive news and it’s great the Secretary of State has listened.”

County council spokesman Michael Page said: “As the waste planning authority, Essex County Council will provide any information required by the Planning Inspectorate for the public inquiry.

“The Rivenhall site is privately owned, and the application is being carried out by the site owner, it is not supported by Essex County Council.”

A date for the inquiry has not been set.

Dear Colchester FoE & Friends,

On Friday from 9am we had an excellent demo on the steps of County Hall at Chelmsford, supporting the Rivenhall Airfield campaigners against the massive waste plants for 1.3 million tonnes p.a., with MBT/SRF plants and an incinerator for 360,000 tonnes of SRF from Basildon and Rivenhall. Thanks to all of you who joined us at the demonstration.

This was before a meeting of Essex County Council’s Development & Regulation Committee to decide about the planning application. Leader of the opposition Labour group, Paul Kirkman, was on the committee so he was able to have a good platform against the proposal.

ECC officers pushed the proposal as if they were commissioned by the applicants. Four Conservatives voted for it and four Labour and LibDems voted against. Other Conservatives didn’t vote at all, probably because they would lose local votes in the county elections on 4th June. The Tory Chairman voted in favour, so it was passed.

The meeting is on the county council website I believe if you wanted to have a look, because the public were not allowed in the meeting room and had to watch proceedings on a screen in the main council chamber. This has happened with all the waste applications. We now believe this is unlawful so names were taken of the people who were forced to watch it on the screen.

The ECC officer said that if the committee approved the application GoEast (Government of the Eastern Region) have said it must come to them to be assessed to see if it will be ‘called in’ for a public inquiry. This is what opposition councillors and we are hoping, and that it could then hopefully be overturned. There were 800 letters of opposition and one letter of support for this application, with masses of letters and petitions going to GoEast asking for it to be ‘called in’ for a public inquiry.

This incinerator is against the pledges of the leader of Essex County Council, Lord Hanningfield since 2001 when they were elected on a vociferous anti-incineration election campaign and manifesto. He also made pledges that if an incinerator was proposed we would have a referendum – which of course we haven’t had.

We were on all the Friday’s BBC LookEast TV news and the Anglia TV news regional bulletins, also on BBC Essex radio – I think the TV news items can be viewed on the news websites of the two main TV channels if you wanted to see us. The programmes were pretty good. The local Rivenhall Airfield Green Party councillor James Abbott on the local Braintree council had done the publicity and was being interviewed. Various Braintree Labour councillors were also there and Cllr Dave Harris from Colchester.

Today we have an article in the East Anglian Daily Times with a big picture and with our big Friends of the Earth banners and placards – a very big blue and red one saying ‘NO INCINERATORS 4 ESSEX’ which Greenpeace made when they had a demo up an incinerator chimney in Hampshire some years ago! There is no doubt we will be in other papers such as the Essex Chronicle next week too as other photographers were there.

Paula