MPs urge halt to £65m funding deal for Yorkshire waste plant

Campaigners opposed to plans for the waste management plant between York and Harrogate travelled to London yesterday to hand in a petition containing more than 9,000 signatures to Downing Street.

They were joined by two of the county's MPs who are urging the Government to reconsider a 65m package of private finance initiative credits awarded for the 900m contract.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones and his colleague Nigel Adams, who represents the Selby and Ainsty constituency, have both voiced grave concerns over the financial implications of creating the waste management plant.

The deal is due to be the biggest contract ever awarded by North Yorkshire County Council and York Council and will span 25 years.

Mr Adams has asked the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for details about how the decision was made to award the PFI credits.

He said: "My major concern is that the councils should not be making such a long-term financial commitment at a time when money is extremely tight.

"There are no get-out clauses and this is potentially an extremely bad financial deal for the taxpayers of North Yorkshire.

"I do believe that 65m in public money should not be committed to the scheme, and we are urging the Government to reconsider."

Households across the county produce about 470,000 tonnes of waste a year, of which 55 per cent ends up in landfill, although protesters claim a greater emphasis should be placed on boosting recycling rates to counter the need for incineration.

Mr Jones said: "There are other ways we should be looking at dealing with the waste issue, and not relying on old technology like incineration."

Both North Yorkshire County Council and York Council are due to meet next month to decide if the 25-year contract should be awarded to the preferred bidder, an international waste management firm called AmeyCespa.

Senior officials from both councils have claimed that the proposed plant is vital to avoid millions of pounds in fines for waste ending up in landfill.

They stressed that keeping the status quo is not an option after the Government announced that landfill taxes would rise by 50 per cent by 2015.

However, campaigners from the North Yorkshire Waste Action Group (NYWAG), who handed in the petition yesterday, claim a wave of public opposition is continuing to grow.

Chairman Steve Wright said: "As more and more people are becoming properly informed about waste incineration, which will condemn North Yorkshire to 25 years of expensive outdated technology, they are using the petition to express their concerns.

"This is grassroots democracy in action."

The new plant, which is due to be built at Allerton Park, is aimed at ensuring the two councils reach a target of recycling at least 50 per cent of waste by 2020.

It will also use mechanical sorting and anaerobic digestion to produce green energy.

However, the incinerator is the most contentious element of the proposed scheme, which is projected to save taxpayers up to 320m over 25 years.

A DEFRA spokesman confirmed yesterday that the Government was considering further options to reduce waste nationally, but admitted that "there is no single solution".