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Plans for controversial energy recovery facility in Sutton deferred after tied vote

Summary:

More than 100 pages of objection were discussed at a public meeting.

By Beth Marsh

Plans for an energy recovery facility in Sutton have been deferred after a tied vote by councillors last Wednesday night.

More than 100 pages of objection were discussed at Sutton library by up to 100 people who attended the meeting.

Protesters waited outside Sutton Civic Centre before the meeting took place and London Green Party was one of the groups who argued their point.

Shasha Kahn, of London Green Party, received applause from the audience while arguing points against the plans, such as air pollution, traffic and effecting nearby residents.

Voting in favour of the ERF were Liberal Democrats Mary Burstow, Stanley Theed and John Leech, and voting against the plans were Conservative councillors Graham Whitham and Eric Allen and Lib Dem Stephen Fenwick. Two others abstained from the vote, causing the motion to be deferred to an unknown date in the future.

Waste management company Viridor, who proposed to build the ERF, argued that it would cut landfill, provide jobs, economic benefits and improve local environment.

Figures showed that the ERF could burn 300,000 tons of rubbish every year, which worries environmental group Greenpeace.

Clive Farndon, of Croydon Greenpeace group, said: “Rubbish isn’t just paper, it’s unsorted rubbish, it’s all the things that are full of toxins and burning these toxins releases it into the air that we all breathe.

“It’s absolute madness and it’s not the way forward. The way forward is through renewable energy.”

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