A PLANNING inspector's decision to throw out an appeal by a waste firm to build a £40 million incinerator in Kidderminster will set a national precedent, it is predicted.

Wyre Forest campaigners - worried about a raft of issues including possible toxic emissions - are celebrating following the successful conclusion of a four-year battle against plans to construct a waste-to-energy burner at the former British Sugar site in Stourport Road. campaigners Kate Brookes, Ian Brookes, Hilary Mueller, Chris Connor, Melvyn Thompson and Martin Mueller celebrate the inspector's decision at the proposed site of the incinerator.

After months of careful consideration planning inspector Ken Smith backed Worcester-shire County Council planning committee's refusal for the burner - citing the "public perception of risk" as one of his reasons.

Chris Connor, chairman of pressure group SKI - Stop Kidderminster Incinerator - said members were "over the moon" .

"It is a victory for local democracy and for good sense," he said.

"The parts of the judgement I have seen seem to say residents' health concerns played a big part. If this is the case it will help other campaigners to fight planning applications, which are not usually considered on health grounds."

County chiefs have admitted it is "back to square one" after the defeat of the burner bid by Severn Waste Services left Herefordshire and Worcestershire's waste strategy in tatters.

County council leader Dr George Lord added he was "staggered" public fears had been cited as a reason for dismissing the appeal and predicted it could have far-reaching consequences for future planning decisions.

Mr Smith, an independent inspector appointed by the Government, heard evidence from both sides during a five-week public inquiry at Kidderminster Town Hall earlier this year.

The outcome mirrored a decision first made by county councillors who voted 11-2 against the plan at a charged meeting at the same venue in April last year.

The inquiry sat for 17 days and Mr Smith also made visits to the proposed site and the surrounding area, took a walk along the towpath of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and studied alternative sites in Hartlebury, Redditch and Droitwich.

He dismissed Severn Waste Services' appeal stating the eastern part of the site is too small to accommodate the proposed buildings and that the stack and boiler house would be "seriously harmful" to views.

Significantly, Mr Smith added: "I am satisfied the concerns of the public are genuine and are not simply the outcome of an orchestrated campaign - very many people in this area have a very real fear of what they see as the unknown health effects of the incinerator.

"This public perception of risk is a negative factor of some significance to place in the scales of the decision-making process."

On the other hand he decided an increase in traffic to the proposed plant "would not be unacceptable".

Severn Waste Services manages 450,000 tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste from the two counties each year and insists the burner was a "pivotal component" of its 25-year contract.

The firm is entitled to no further right of appeal unless it finds a problem with Mr Smith's approach to the inquiry and is now examining his judgement "carefully".