King's Lynn incinerator: Norwich Lib Dem response (East of England Liberal Democrats)

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King's Lynn incinerator: Norwich Lib Dem response

January 11, 2012 11:33 AM
Originally published by Norwich Liberal Democrats Online

Cllr James Wright has today written to the Norwich Evening News outlining his views on the King's Lynn incinerator proposal. The letter is reproduced in full below.

Dear Evening News,

I am pleased that Liberal Democrats and Greens worked together to ensure that the City Council's opposition to the proposed incinerator at Kings Lynn was clearly outlined in a letter to the Secretary of State, Caroline Spelman (Evening News 10/12). I originally raised the issue with Council Leader Brenda Arthur at the November meeting of the council. She stated that the City Council was focused on reducing the volume of waste, rather than the issue of how this waste is dealt with. I think that the Council, despite its primary role being waste collection, should be interested in both aspects, especially when our relative silence seemed to be being used by the government as evidence of 'broad support' for the incinerator, which in turn would be used by them to justify releasing £169 million in PFI credits.

The Liberal Democrat Group at County Hall have clearly and consistently outlined the case against the proposed incinerator and I support their arguments. Personally, the overwhelming reason I object to the plan is one of local democracy. In a referendum in King's Lynn and West Norfolk last year 92% voted against the proposal. Crucially, the turnout was a respectable 61%. Local opposition like this should not be ignored and neither the government nor the county council should attempt to override it by appealing to the mostly Tory led district councils in Norfolk in an attempt to prove 'broad support'. There is no such support among local residents and this fact has to be central to the decision making process.

Cllr James Wright
Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group
City Hall
Norwich