Spirited representations from Brian Catt, Peter Francis, Peter Crews, Malcolm Robertson and Cllr. Tim Evans were not sufficient to persuade the Planning and Regulatory Committee at County Hall from giving final approval for the construction of an incinerator (aka the 'EcoPark') at the Charlton Lane Community Recycling Centre. The approval was passed with a 7 - 4 majority.
Possibly the most irritating aspect of this decision is that our speakers, including experts in their various fields of chemical engineering and physics, knew a great deal more than the combined membership of the Committee itself. Once again, a cast-iron case against the construction of this belching, polluting edifice was trumped by the politics. A truly depressing, if predictable outcome.
It now remains to be seen what legal avenues are available to us by way of legal challenge; and these are being actively explored as we go to print.
