No inquiry over incinerator plant

Strong objections were lodged against the incinerator plans

A public inquiry will not be held into proposals for a waste incinerator in an East Sussex town, after the government decided not to call the plans in.

East Sussex County Council said Local Government Secretary Ruth Kelly had ruled her intervention "would not be justified" over the Newhaven facility.

It has paved the way for full planning permission to be granted.

The "Energy from Waste" plant sparked street protests and 15,000 written objections from opponents.

Campaign group Dove said incinerators posed significant environmental and health hazards.

Planning conditions

The facility, earmarked for a North Quay site in Newhaven, will generate electricity by processing 210,000 tonnes of waste a year from East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.

The county council said the waste would therefore be diverted from landfill, and power to 16,500 homes would be produced.

At a previous planning meeting in February, the council imposed 44 conditions covering noise and dust issues on the operator Veolia in order for planning consent to be given.

A legal agreement will need to be signed on proposed lorry routes and off-site planting and landscaping.