Debate tackles incinerator fears

The incinerator plans will be considered by the county council

Opponents of a planned incinerator in the Surrey countryside are holding a public meeting in their village hall to raise support for their campaign.

The Capel Action Group fears traffic problems and environmental damage will be inevitable if the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility goes ahead.

Developers Surrey Waste Management and the county council have said it is the "best way forward" for waste disposal.

The campaigners' meeting was being held in Capel on Thursday evening.

One of them, Karina Osbourne-Patterson, said: "I have concerns about transport, the pollution caused by an incinerator and the environmental issues.

The road network is well capable of handling the level of traffic Sean Trotter, Surrey Waste Management

"We have ancient woodland here and great-crested newts. I think it will devastate the area if something like an incinerator is built."

The proposed site at Clockhouse Brickworks, on the A24 at Capel, was previously used for quarrying and landfill waste.

Sean Trotter, from Surrey Waste Management, said: "We are confident that the traffic going in will not be any greater than the traffic that previously used the facility.

"It would be 25 vehicles a day... the road network is well capable of handling that level of traffic."

Mr Trotter has also said that generating electricity from waste that could not sensibly be recycled was a "safe and efficient" method.

A planning application for the incinerator is in the hands of Surrey County Council.

However, it is still awaiting a government inspector's report on its draft waste plan, which would set out guidelines for where waste disposal facilities can be built and of what type they should be.