Incinerator project attacked by former agency chairman

The proposals to build the waste plant at Allerton Park next to the A1 between York and Harrogate, a gateway to some of the region's main tourism destinations and the Yorkshire Dales, have provoked fury among campaigners who say it will harm the countryside and deal a blow to recycling rates.

North Yorkshire County Council is set to vote on whether to give the plans the green light next month.

Ahead of the decision, Sir Graham Hall, who served as Yorkshire Forward's chairman until 2003, has written to all the councillors in the authority as well as members of York Council, proposing alternatives to the controversial scheme.

In the letter, Sir Graham claims the project is based on "extremely risky and poorly-supported assumptions" and will not deliver the promised savings of 320m.

Instead he proposes a range of alternative approaches focusing on reducing the amount of waste produced by the public and encouraging more recycling, which he claims would save 1.2bn over 25 years – the length of the proposed contract.

Sir Graham, who lives in Green Hammerton, near York, four miles from the proposed site, said: "I have been against this scheme since the outset.

"Instead of just ploughing ahead with the incinerator and taking all the risks associated with that, there is a much less risky approach which is also much cheaper.

"They are shooting themselves in the foot here, losing all this money and doing something that the residents don't want."

North Yorkshire County Council's corporate director for business and environmental services, David Bowe, said yesterday: "I recognise that a proposed development of this scale and type is not popular with everyone however, it is the job of the council to provide leadership in difficult circumstances and occasionally, as in this case, to make difficult decisions.

"Members will be made aware of public opinion, and the alternative proposals, when they are asked to determine whether to award the contract or not, in December."