Notts County Council raises no objection to Sherwood Forest incinerator

On Friday 9th January 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council’s Planning Committee voted 10 to 1 not to object to Veolia’s planning application for a Sherwood Forest incinerator. PAIN is joined by Sherwood MP Paddy Tipping and Newark and Sherwood District Council in requesting that Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) calls in this ‘decision’ and sets up a public inquiry.

The gallery was packed with protesters, including more than 90 members of People Against Incineration (PAIN) and several representatives of fellow anti-incineration groups including the Ellistown Action Group (Leicestershire), Dorothy from Derby and Nigel from Nottingham, and of course Keith Kondakor (who seems to cover much of the Midlands!).

Special thanks go out to everyone who continues to support the efforts of PAIN to prevent a waste incinerator being built on a greenfield site in Sherwood Forest, Rainworth, Nottinghamshire.

Some excellent presentations were delivered against the incinerator application (copies available upon request), and by lunch time we were confident that we were winning on points. But after lunch everything changed – with false statements coming from the Planning Officer and no opportunity to set the record straight! This was most frustrating to say the least.

The Nottinghamshire County Councillors on the Planning Committee, with one notable exception (Liberal Democrat Brian Wombwell), seemed confused and out of touch with planning law. One dismissed the need to pay attention to “all those PPSs and JSP’s”. The Planning Officer announced that UK (sic) Waste Policy conflicts with European policy regarding energy recovery, and that elected members should choose between UK and EU policy!

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