Plans to build major waste incinerator rejected following 5,500 objections

Plans to build a major waste incinerator in Hampshire have been rejected by councillors following 5,500 objections.

The controversial incinerator would have been built at the Wey Valley in Alton.

Thousands of people wrote to Hampshire Council asking for the plan to be binned.

Campaigners argued the site goes against the county's green targets and and said it would be as big as Winchester Cathedral.

The planned incinerator would have been 40 metres tall, with 80 metre high chimneys, had it been approved.

Waste company Veolia, behind the facility, said the incinerator would provide electricity to power 75,000 homes in an eco-friendly way, along with creating hundreds of jobs.

The final application was considered by the Hampshire County Council Regulatory Committee who met today (23 February).

Despite the large local opposition, council officials had recommended the incinerator be approved, subject to constraints. 

Ben Stanberry, spokesperson from the 'No Wey Incinerator Action Group' said there was "such a huge opposition" to the plan, that it "could not be ignored."

Ben Stanberry from 'No Wey Incinerator Action Group' said the incinerator would have "destroyed" the natural landscape and heritage of the area.

He argued the proposed power was "not for the benefit of the local community," and would go into the national grid.

"It's a very, very dirty way to make power just as dirty as coal that would burn waste that's imported into the way valley from across the south of England," Mr. Stanberry added.

"It would turn the way valley into the dustbin of the south of England, and that's something we absolutely don't want to see happen."

Will Butler runs West End Flower Farm, which is a few hundred metres away from where the incinerator would have been built.

He said the business sells itself on its location and the way they farm, but the incinerator went "against all of those principles."

Local objector Will Butler is "delighted" with the council's decision.

Prior to the meeting, he said: "if they get the permission for it, our site becomes fairly worthless. So the investment has gone from significant to insignificant."

There are already three incinerators in Hampshire, including one around 15 miles away at Chineham.

Veolia argued the incinerator was vital to treat waste that cannot be recycled.

It said the facility would be the UK's most efficient waste to energy plant, and that capacity is running out.

In a statement, a Veolia spokesperson said, “We are disappointed by the Regulatory Committee’s decision today and we will now take some time to consider our next steps for the project.”