Rural waste incinerator approved

The site was previously used for quarrying and landfill waste

Plans to build a waste incinerator in the Surrey countryside have been approved by the county council's planning committee.

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

Campaigners fought the plans claiming the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility would create traffic problems and environmental damage.

Developers Surrey Waste Management said it was the "best way forward".

Ten members of the planning committee approved the plans, four voted against them, and one councillor abstained.

'Reducing landfill'

A report submitted to the committee said the former quarry would be excavated, and the brickworks' operational lagoon would be drained to form the base of the building.

The plant would have the capacity to process 110,000 tonnes of waste from across Surrey, the report added.

It said the application site was in a rural area designated as Countryside beyond the Green Belt, and included part of a Site of Nature Conservation Importance.

But it added that Capel was the "only site allocated for thermal treatment outside the Green Belt" and said the plant would help divert waste from landfill, reduce greenhouse gases and contribute towards EU policy.