THE Government has been urged to intervene in a battle to build a £200 million incinerator, which was last week given planning permission by County Hall.
Yesterday (Tuesday), Buckingham MP John Bercow revealed he had called on local government minister Eric Pickles to step in.
Mr Bercow, who has been outspoken in his opposition to the Calvert project, described the decision as ‘very bad news’ for the Vale.
On Friday, planning committee members voted by a majority of seven to two to approve the controversial plant.
Construction of the incinerator, which will create 22MW of energy each year, is due to begin later this year, and take three years to complete.
The MP said: “This is very bad news for Aylesbury Vale as a whole and for those in and around the site in particular.
“I remain of the view that a decision of this importance should be called in by the Secretary of State for his consideration and I have written to Eric Pickles in the strongest terms to request that he does just that.”
If the decision is called in, Mr Pickles will have the final say on whether the project goes ahead.
Following Friday’s meeting, the chairman of Bucks County Council’s development control committee said politicians ‘had no choice’ but to approve the scheme.
Energy firm WRG had applied to build the plant in Lower Greatmoor Farm.
It says 40 permanent jobs would be created on the site.
Two day-long meetings last week were marked by controversy, after committee member John Cartwright was forced to pull out following legal advice. He later told councillors the 95m chimney would be a ‘tower of terror’ that would blight the landscape.
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