Javelin Park campaign - incinerator would ruin the Cotswold AONB says Cheltenham MP (From Stroud News and Journal)

Javelin Park campaign - incinerator would ruin the Cotswold AONB says Cheltenham MP

9:28am Friday 1st February 2013 in News By Chris Warne, SNJ reporter for Stonehouse and Chalford. Twitter @ChrisWarneSNJ

BUILDING a mass burn incinerator at Javelin Park near Haresfield would damage the Cotswold AONB and set a dangerous precedent for future development in the area, according to the Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood.

The Liberal Democrat politician, who last week wrote to Gloucestershire County Council to object to the proposed development, believes the need for the facility is not proven.

In the past, Mr Horwood has described incineration as a ‘costly’ and ‘unsustainable’ technology which ‘actively harms recycling’, and in his letter to GCC he says better alternatives for disposing of household rubbish exist.

"Gasification and gas plasma technology may both offer more efficient and more environmentally-friendly alternatives in the future. Mechanical biological treatment and anaerobic digestion already do," he writes.

Mr Horwood, who has served as a shadow environment minister for the Lib Dems and has a reputation for a keen interest in green issues, has also written to the secretary of state Eric Pickles asking him to ‘call-in’ the plans.

"The proposed incinerator will be highly visible from the adjoining Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (1 mile away), the Cotswold Escarpment and the Cotswold Way, causing demonstrable harm to the enjoyment of the AONB, he writes in his letter to GCC.

"This seems to me to set a very bad precedent for respect for the Costwolds AONB that could have far-reaching implications."

He adds: "The long-term contract for the incinerator will act as a disincentive to prevent, reuse and recycle waste because it will create an economic driver to incinerate."