A CALL has been made for waste incinerators to be banned from Britain after Wyre Forest District Council renewed its battle against plans for a £40 million burner.

Operating firm Severn Waste Services has lodged an appeal against a Worcestershire County Council decision to refuse the plans for the British Sugar site off Stourport Road at a packed public meeting in Kidderminster in April.

But the district council has agreed a set of objections to the appeal which will now be passed on to the Planning Inspectorate ahead of the appeal hearing, for which a date has not yet been set.

Councillors are protesting over the impact on visual amenity, the visual impact on the canal conservation area and the loss of sports provision on the site without replacement.

The planning (development control) committee unanimously agreed the objections while members were up in arms over the appeal, after county planners voted 11-2 to throw out the plans.

Councillor Nigel Knowles, who chaired that meeting as a then member of the county's planning and regulatory committee, said the bid to build the £40 million incinerator in Kidderminster was "contrary to all logic".

He added: "Incinerators should be banned from Britain, and the county council should have a proper waste plan and instigate a proper recycling programme."

It was also agreed that public concern over the health implications of incinerators was another basis for the protest against the appeal.

Fran Oborski said incinerators are not allowed to be built near residential areas in Europe, and said that arguments in favour of their safety were flawed as they do not run at "100 per cent efficiency 100 per cent of the time".

She said: "This is going to be a major employment and redevelopment site in future years.

"If you were an industrialist coming to build a nice new factory, would you want to put it next to an incinerator?"

Head of planning and environment Jake Berriman said this alone did not constitute grounds for the appeal to be turned down.

However, he said it could be included under residents' fear and concern.

John Wardle also demanded a video be sent to the Planning Inspectorate of the Stourport Road traffic during the sugar beet season, as an inspector would not visit the site until the appeal - which is likely to be next spring when the traffic would not be as bad.