Incinerator given final go-ahead

Plans for the incinerator were given conditional approval last year

Plans to build a controversial waste incinerator in Newhaven, East Sussex have been given the final go ahead.

A legal challenge by Lewes District Friends of the Earth and Defenders of the Ouse Valley and Estuary (Dove) has been dismissed by a High Court judge.

They had applied for a judicial review claiming East Sussex County Council had "ignored long-term recycling targets".

But in his judgment, Mr Justice Sullivan said the council's planning procedures had been thorough.

Newhaven Town Council, Lewes District Friends of the Earth and Dove were ordered by the Court to pay £10,000 costs following the judgment.

The position remains that the incinerator is environmentally destructive and will undermine more effective ways of dealing with waste Lewes District Friends of the Earth

East Sussex councillor Matthew Lock said: "Our priority's still to reduce, reuse and recycle before energy recovery and landfill, but some waste can't be composted or recycled and still needs to be managed and disposed of properly.

"Incineration is a very safe and cost-effective means of treating this waste, reducing its volume, making it safer and using the energy created in the process for heat and power.

"Our job now is to work with Veolia to make sure people are kept informed about the progress of the facility as it's built over the next few years."

A spokesman for Lewes District Friends of the Earth said: "We are disappointed that this case will not now be heard by the Court of Appeal as we think that the High Court's judgment left a number of important issues unresolved.

"Although the courts have concluded that East Sussex did not act illegally in granting planning permission the position remains that the incinerator is environmentally destructive and will undermine more effective ways of dealing with waste throughout the region over the next 30 years.

"In particular, the incinerator will prevent recycling from reaching the levels that are needed to contribute to the fight against dangerous climate change."

Plans for the proposed Newhaven incinerator were given conditional approval last year.

Waste firm Veolia, which will operate the plant at North Quay, said the incinerator would generate electricity through burning an estimated 210,000 tonnes of waste a year.