ABOUT 100 people turned up for a meeting to discuss what action should be taken next in a bid to stop a £120 million incinerator being built in the county.

With just 36 hours’ notice, word spread so that people could get together to breathe new life into the campaign against the energy-from-waste plant, which is planned for Hartlebury trading estate in Hartlebury, near Stourport-on-Severn.

The meeting focused on how to persuade Eric Pickles, Communities and Local Government Secretary, to call in and closely scrutinise the application after the county council granted permission for the scheme at the beginning of the month.

The meeting was chaired by Ray Kirby, chairman of Worcestershire Against Incineration and Landfill (WAIL), and Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff said he had already sent a letter to Mr Pickles and forwarded the campaign group’s correspondence onto the minister as well. Mr Luff has now promised to write another letter making additional points that were raised.

Mr Luff said: “It was a constructive and good-natured occasion but there is justifiable and rising anger in the village that this could be imposed upon them. I sincerely hope the application will be called in and a full public inquiry held.

“Every concerned citizen of Worcestershire should write to Mr Pickles urging this course of action.

“The decision of the county council to approve the incinerator flies in the face of green belt policy and is completely out of line with all emerging thinking on handling waste.

“The council appears to have a conflict of interest as it both owns the site and is the signatory of the underlying waste contract with Severn Waste, which will build and operate the incinerator.”

We previously reported in your Worcester News that the county council expects the minister to call in the application and is adamant that its handling of the application has been above board.