CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans for a giant rubbish incinerator in Belvedere have been cheered by news that an existing plant in north London will not be allowed to expand.
The Government has just announced its decision not to allow the Edmonton incinerator to increase its capacity by 50 per cent.
Bexley people had feared, if Edmonton got the green light, Riverside Resource Recovery, which hopes to build a 585,000 tonne waste-to-energy incinerator in Norman Road, Belvedere, might try to increase its capacity to nearer a million tonnes.
The company hopes to get permission from the Department of Trade and Industry for the incinerator which is intended to take a large part of its rubbish from areas in south west London.
This follows a decision by the Western Riverside Waste Authority, which covers Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Lambeth, not to sanction a new incinerator in its area to dispose of its rubbish, but to rely instead on one being built in Belvedere.
Erith and Thamesmead MP John Austin who has campaigned against the Belvedere incinerator for nearly 10 years, says the proposals are out of step with the Government's waste strategy.
"I hope the refusal for Edmonton will spell the end of plans for Belvedere. There must be local solutions. West London cannot solve its problems by transporting its rubbish across London and burning it on our doorstep."
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