Legal case against £275m incinerator defeated

A High Court judge has given the green light to Spanish contractor FCC to build a £275m incinerator in Buckinghamshire after he threw out two judicial reviews against the scheme.

The project will produce 22MW of electricity from burning waste diverted from landfill.

The plans were approved in April 2012 and FCC was appointed to build the centre in July 2012.

However, two local people objected to the scheme and applied for judicial review.

One claim was thrown out because it was “not properly arguable” according to Mr Justice Lindbolm and it was lodged with the court too late. The other case was allowed to be heard by the court but was then dismissed on its merits.

Lindbolm concluded that the advice given by planning officers to council cabinet members had been “sound and sufficient” for them to make a decision.

Neither party has asked to appeal the decision.

Steven Adams, Buckinghamshire council’s cabinet member for environment, welcomed the decision saying it allowed the council to go ahead with a scheme that would save tax payers £150m.

He added: “I understand that the small number of objectors have strong feelings, but this is a project that has excellent aims and thorough processes that have been exceptionally well pursued and executed by a strong team. Today’s judgement supports that.”