Hold a referendum on incineration plans, say Liberal Democrats

11.40.46am GMT Tue 13th Nov 2007

Liberal Democrats at Suffolk County Council called on the Conservative administration to hold a public referendum on whether to build an incinerator in Suffolk, claiming it was the only way to get full public support for such a project.

A referendum, recommended by Suffolk's John Gummer MP in his recent policy paper for the Conservative Party "The Quality of Life" report [1], would see the people of Suffolk asked to vote on whether they wanted an incinerator built.

The call came during a Full Council debate (on 30th October) on the future of Suffolk's waste plans which saw the possibility of an incinerator for Suffolk discussed.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Cllr Kathy Pollard said, "The need to have full public confidence in this decision cannot be overestimated, which is why it is unfortunate that the Conservatives are refusing to name the 6 possible sites for an incinerator.

Knowing where the site will be located will allow the public to assess the true environmental impact of such a facility. Will we be able to move the waste by rail for example? Or will the plant add yet more HGV journeys to our county's already struggling road network?

In John Gummer's environmental policy report for the Tories, it recommends "local public referendums as an acceptable means of gauging public opinion in presenting community views where incinerators are being proposed".

I simply put it to the counties' Tories - will they open up this process and name the sites, and will they accept John Gummer's recommendation of a referendum or refuse it?"

Liberal Democrat Councillor, John Field, added, "We can all see that it is necessary to move from landfill, a process that is low cost but has significant environmental problems. However, the Conservatives appears to have jumped on the 'Incineration bandwagon' just as the tide is turning towards anaerobic digestion and other greener technologies.

I simply cannot believe that a company would spend the considerable sum necessary to bid for an alternative process that will clearly not be a winner. The possibility of smaller scale plants using greener technology more suited to future waste scenarios has been missed."