In response to news that Buckinghamshire County Council are further delaying their decision regarding their preferred bidder for their waste contract, STOP Aylesbury Vale Incineration (SAVI) have commented:
SAVI-STOP Aylesbury Vale Incineration are delighted by the news that BCC have delayed, yet again, the decision to choose their preferred bidder for the building of a mass burn incineration plant in either North Buckinghamshire or Bedfordshire.
We believe that this delay has been brought about as the campaign against the proposals in rural North Bucks has gathered huge momentum during the last few weeks. SAVI now number among its active supporters Lord Rothschild, Lord Verney, The Earl of Buckinghamshire and John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons and constituency MP for Buckingham.
One of the issues that the group are so concerned about is that the proposal is to site a mass burn incinerator in the rural agricultural heartland of North Bucks close to a number of important environmental and wildlife sites, immediately adjacent to a grade II listed part thatched farmhouse known as Lower Greatmoor Farm, Edgcott, not at all on the Calvert landfill site as suggested.
A series of four public information meetings held by the group have hosted a variety of expert speakers who have shared important information about the health and environmental concerns connected with mass burn incineration. The subject of the massively increased transport travelling from all around the county bringing waste into the site has revealed the strategy as flawed, the increased traffic would negate any suggested benefits that might be derived in the form of energy harvesting.
SAVI intend to continue the battle to persuade BCC that this strategy is flawed and there are other and better ways of dealing with the problem which we must all own of what on earth do we do with our waste?
SAVI will be holding a press conference from 11am on Saturday 11 July. Those assembled will be addressed by John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons and constituency MP for Buckingham.
For more information about the group and to understand our campaign and the scientific research which underpins the campaign please go to our website, www.besavi.co.uk
Local coverage
The story is being covered by the Buckinghamshire Free Press, who wrote recently about the local anti-incineration protest group gaining momentum. In another article (Incinerator decision delayed(12:20pm Wednesday 1st July 2009), by Oliver Evans ») the paper explains what Buckinghamshire County Council say about the delay:
COUNCILLORS have delayed making a decision on whether to back putting an incinerator in north Buckinghamshire. Buckinghamshire County Council chiefs will instead support one of two sites in September.
Wapseys Wood, Beaconsfield was mooted as possible site by the council last year but dropped after a public outcry. The council said it was thrown out over its assessment criteria. Springfield Farm in Broad Lane, Beaconsfield, was down as a reserve site.
Now the plan is for a new incinerator from Waste Recycling Group at Calvert landfill site, Buckingham, or by Covanta Energy at Stewartby, Bedfordshire. Both would need planning permission.
A council statement said: “The preferred bidder decision about the county council’s Energy from Waste project has been deferred until September this year. It was due to be heard by Cabinet on 13 July. The extra time is needed to finalise the council’s legal, financial and technical appraisals and checks.”
Councillor Martin Tett, cabinet member planning and environment, said today: “The delay is necessary because we want to ensure that the council achieves good value for money for its residents. We still have two strong bidders for the contract, Covanta Energy and WRG.”
Cllr Tett said in May that “there is currently no proposal the county has for a household incinerator in south Buckinghamshire”.
1Helen Howard SAVI Steering Group on Jul 13, 2009 at 2:16 pm:
BCC seem now to waking up to the fact that they cannot make a decision as to a site for a mass burn incinerator without first finalising their new waste and minerals strategy, which won’t be until autumn 2010 at the earliest. Scotland decided it could do better than ‘landfill in the sky’ and SAVI hopes BCC has a vision for Bucks which will do better too.
SAVI welcomes all the support we have had from BRAINS and UKWin we look forward to working with you with a combined approach in future.
2Shlomo on Jul 31, 2009 at 7:01 am:
SAVI tell us that:
Buckinghamshire County Council have done it again, moved the goalposts! The much publicised meeting of the cabinet to rubber stamp the council’s choice of preferred bidder, originally scheduled for 13 July, moved to 28 September has, as of yesterday afternoon moved again. This time to Monday 14 September. So we are moving the Clean Green Rally (for the LAST time) to Saturday 12 September at 11am in Kingsbury Square Aylesbury. Following a brief address by a person of note (to be decided) we will process through to County Hall where we will present the written petition. The press should be out in force, national as well as local.
3Carol Horner on Aug 10, 2009 at 5:28 pm:
If as it seems that there is a proposal to treat 500,000 tonnes wet weight of residual waste per year (a dry weight of 300,000 tonnes) to make the biofuel Ethanol at the Mytum and Selby plant on an old Maltings site at South Milford for around £55million then why can’t we have the same in Buckinghamshire. This is a fundamental issue that is being repeated elsewhere in Europe and in the USA Canada VietNam and beyond.
This makes a mockery of the proposals for Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire and elsewhere so let’s get to it.