The approval of the 200 million plant was granted last month, more than 15 years after the first attempt at planning permission was sought (see letsrecycle.com story).
 A computer-generated image of the proposed Belvedere incinerator |
Processing an average of 585,000 tonnes of waste each year over a three-decade period, the plant proposed for a site on the River Thames could become Europe's largest energy-from-waste incinerator.
But now the Tory-run council is working with anti-incineration Mayor Ken Livingstone to seek legal action to block the Belvedere plant.
Cllr Ian Clement, leader of Bexley council, said: “We are committed to using all the powers available to us to protect the interests of Bexley residents. We now have to put our faith and trust in British justice and let the courts decide.”
Cllr Clement said the London Mayor had promised to assist Bexley in financing the legal action against the Belvedere incinerator. He said: “We are now looking at the details, so we can go forward as one.”
Petition
The council's announced intent came as a petition signed by opponents of the plant is set to be presented to 10 Downing Street today.
The Belvedere incinerator is being built to treat household waste generated by four central London boroughs – Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth and Lambeth – as part of Cory Environmental's 30-year contract with the Western Riverside Waste Authority.
An important part of the project – which is thought to have been a major reason for its ultimate approval – is the intention of Cory to use the River Thames, rather than London's congested roads, to transport waste to the plant.
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Bexley council, which sends some of its collected waste to the SELCHP incinerator in neighbouring Lewisham, is objecting to the Belvedere project on the grounds that waste would be brought in from outside the borough for treatment (see letsrecycle.com story).
Cllr Clement said: “I have promised that this administration would stand up for the residents of Bexley against this disastrous decision by the government and that is what we are going to do.”
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