Council to be challenged over £15m incinerator ‘war chest’

Opponents of the proposed waste management plant between York and Harrogate have claimed that cash-starved North Yorkshire County Council has amassed a £15m “war chest” to pay for the project.

They have maintained the authority should be using the money to counter cuts of more than £69m which it is having to make to counter the fall in government funding.

The chairman of the North Yorkshire Waste Action Group (NYWAG), Steve Wright, said: “The county council’s apparent commitment to incineration is a ridiculously expensive solution that was first mooted over a decade ago.

“It has to wake up and acknowledge that we live in different times.”

Parish councillor Nick Wilson from Marton-cum-Grafton, which represents a growing number of parish and town councils opposed to the scheme, will voice his concerns about the extent of the cuts at a full council meeting tomorrow.

He said: “Responsible councils normally maintain strategic reserves to maintain financial security. However, the county council has chosen to build up a “war chest” to fund its waste strategy. The library cuts save a meagre £2.1m – has our council lost sense of what matters?”

The council maintained that it has not developed a “war chest”, and the waste strategy is vital to preventing millions of pounds being spent on landfill taxes.

A spokeswoman added: “It is prudent to ensure that sufficient funds are available for the waste strategy when they are needed. In the meantime, funds that in due course will be needed for waste management are being used to help fund other budget pressures and thereby avoiding further cuts.”

She added: “The implication of not delivering the waste strategy would be more and deeper cuts.”

The plant, which is due to be built at Allerton Park, will use mechanical sorting and anaerobic digestion to produce green energy, but the incinerator is the most controversial element.