Cornwall Council refuses to rethink approach to waste

Earlier today, the Cabinet at Cornwall Council voted to proceed with the purchase of land from Imerys for the construction of a land for an access road to their preferred site for an unsustainable 240,000 tonne waste incinerator. 

It should be noted that the ‘option’ to buy the land was due to run out on 28th June, but it would not been known until July whether the latest challenge from local campaigners would be upheld. At the meeting it was noted that Imerys had allowed the option to be extended by one month.

I once again challenged the Cabinet to step back from their support for the incinerator and to commit to a more sustainable form of waste management.

I also raised a number of concerns on behalf of local people that included the mismanagement of the road issue, concerns about the accuracy of information within the report, a lack of information about a necessary traffic regulation order and impact on public rights of way, outstanding planning and legal matters, the lack of consultation with the local community, etc.

I also challenged members of the Cabinet to instead attend the next meeting of the Waste Panel on11th July, when campaigners would be presenting an alternative (Plan B) to incineration.

But it was to no avail. There were limited and inadequate responses to some of my queries, while others were dodged or ignored. And then the Cabinet voted unanimously to push ahead with their support for incineration.