St Austell MP Matthew Taylor has pledged his support to Cornwall Council after contractor SITA announced it was to appeal against the refused incinerator scheme.

In March this year the now defunct Cornwall county council refused planning permission for an incinerator to be build at St Dennis.

SITA Cornwall, which is contracted by the council to manage recycling and waste in the county, has now announced it is to appeal against the decision later this month.

David Buckle, project director at SITA UK, said: “Although Cornwall is recycling more waste than ever, it is anticipated that there will still be more than 200,000 tonnes of residual household waste, and at least the same tonnage of commercial and industrial waste, to dispose of each year. This is a problem that won’t go away.

“There is an urgent need for this facility to avoid a waste management crisis and to provide a modern waste management solution for the whole county in which we produce energy from non-recycled waste, rather than landfill it.”

A statement from Cornwall Council said officers would be working with councillors to prepare a “robust defence” of the planning decision taken by the former county council planning committee.

They are being supported by MP Mr Taylor, who said: “The incinerator plans were firmly rejected by the county council. I trust Cornwall Council will now mount a vigorous defence of that decision.

“It is time to deliver a waste solution that puts Cornwall at the forefront of sustainable and safe waste solutions, which – as the advertising standards authority recently ruled – this proposal is not.”

A public inquiry by the Planning Inspectorate is now expected to take place in the first half of next year.

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