Priti Patel MP welcomes refusal recommendation for Rivenhall Incinerator stack increase
Priti Patel, the MP for Witham has welcomed the recommendation of planning officers from Essex County Council to refuse the latest planning application for an increase in the stack height of the Rivenhall Incinerator. The report from the officers, which will be considered by elected members at the Development and Regulation Committee meeting on 26th April 2019, gave three grounds for the refusal recommendation. They were that the need for the facility had not been demonstrated, the impact on a grade 2 listed building and the impact on the quality and character of the landscape.
Commenting on the recommended refusal, Priti Patel MP, who has been supporting her constituents and communities across the area in opposing the application said: “The recommendation to refuse this latest planning application will be welcomed by residents and communities in this part of Essex. Thousands of people are opposed to this application and the fact that the Council now question the overall need for the development proves that we have been right to oppose the site for so long. I pay tribute to the local communities with whom I have been working to oppose this planning application. We have worked together to hold the applicant to account and to put forward a strong case for the application to be refused.”
“This recommendation also proves that the last Labour Government were wrong and short-sighted in granting permission for the site, nine years ago.”
“The decision still needs to be made by the Committee and I will be making strong representations to them to object. There is also an environmental permit application with the Environment Agency for a version of the stack which does have planning permission, so despite this welcome news the campaign to get this incinerator stopped continues.”
The report for the 26 April 2019 Development and Regulation Committee of Essex County Council can be found here.