Plans for new Hampshire incinerator that would burn 1.5 times more waste than Portsmouth

Next week, Hampshire County Council will discuss a proposal for a new incinerator on the A31, near Alton.

The incinerator would have the capacity to take 330,000 tonnes of waste per year - more than 1.5 times the amount taken by the incinerator in Portsmouth.

It would be the fourth incinerator in Hampshire - but has received more than 5,000 objections from residents.

Ben Stanberry, spokesman for the No Wey Incinerator campaign group, said: 'There is simply no justification for approving Hampshire’s fourth incinerator.

'The planning application has gone through four public consultations, resulting in over 5,500 objections from local residents and businesses, backed by two MPs, three district and borough authorities, two town councils and 19 parish councils.

'CPRE Hampshire, the South Downs National Park Authority and Historic England have also submitted strong objections.'

The building, which would be 165m in length and have to 80m high emission stacks, has been recommended for approval by council officers.

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But instead of just collecting Hampshire waste, Veolia will incinerate waste from Dorset and Surrey as well.

Hampshire County Council's Conservative member for Alton Rural, Cllr Mark Kemp-Gee, was the one who asked the county council to consider the plans.

He said: 'The site itself is on a hill, which would make it one of the tallest landmarks in Hampshire. It's an extraordinary place to put an incinerator.

'When you think about how that will look for all the beautiful rural villages nearby, the fact that the county council has recommended to approve it is a real blow.

'All of us are opposed to this but what's more, there's simply no need for it.

'We already have incinerators in Portsmouth, Southampton and Basingstoke, and with our household waste recycling centres as well the main focus should be recycling, not burning our waste.

'The bottom line is this incinerator is not for the people of Hampshire, it's purely for Veolia's benefit.'

Cllr Kemp-Gee added that opposers have applied for the application to be called in to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Michael Gove MP - if the county council gives its approval to the plans at next week's regulatory committee.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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