Lynn’s incinerator would be a “blight” on West Norfolk which should be halted before an expensive public inquiry, the town’s MP has claimed.
Henry Bellingham made the comment during a debate at Westminster Hall on Wednesday afternoon, in which he again urged Norfolk County Council to review the plan.
During the exchange, the North West Norfolk MP said Norfolk County Council “could not have picked a more unsuitable site” for the plant.
He cited a study from the British Society for Ecological Medicine, which suggested that some dioxins released during the incineration process could increase the risk of lung cancer among people with pre-existing conditions by almost eight times.
He said the risks to public health and areas of crucial environmental importance such as Roydon Common and The Wash meant the plant should not be built at Saddlebow.
And he added: “We would be mad to locate the facility upwind of a population centre and very valuable agriculture and horticulture.
“Do not put a blight on our homes, on our habitats and on my constituency.”
Mr Bellingham also claimed the county council had approved Cory Wheelabrator’s bid to run the incinerator over a rival bid which was £46 million cheaper.
In an earlier statement, acting county council leader Bill Borrett said that a decision had been made unanimously by a committee of councillors and officers, which included West Norfolk Council’s deputy leader Brian Long - who is now backing a rival waste plan - because the Cory bid represented a better solution than the alternative, said to be put forward by AmeyCespa.
But Mr Bellingham accused the county council of an “abject and total failure” to protect the county’s taxpayers by signing a contract with a £20 million penalty clause if the development does not proceed.
Planning minister Nick Boles revealed that 20 MPs had supported the case for a call-in of the incinerator proposal and said Mr Bellingham had set out some “compelling arguments.”
On the decision to be taken after the public inquiry, he added: “I cannot promise that the decision will be one he will welcome, but I can promise him that the process of arriving at that decision will be thorough and open.”
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