WARRINGTON Borough Council should come clean about its plans for an incinerator according to a local MP.
Helen Jones, MP for Warrington North, has condemned a £1.4 million allocation for consultants on the scheme.
She says the council has been “forced” to admit £200k per year for incinerator consultants has been allocated for the next seven years, not just the original three years outlined in the March 1 budget.
Labour councillors have challenged the leadership about whether “due process” has been followed to allocate this additional £800k. They also challenged the leadership to rule out an incinerator at the Omega site, which is designated for high-tech businesses.
The MP said: “The authority has put aside £1.4 million to develop an incinerator. Yet they refuse to rule out putting it on Omega. They say they’re considering other sites but won’t say where they are.
“No council puts £200,000 a year aside without having a site in mind. So they should tell local people the truth. Where do they want to put it? Warrington Council Tax payers have a right to know.”
Ms Jones was supported by Nick Bent, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Warrington South.
He said he believed the council “secretly” wants to put the incinerator at Omega but will not say so for fear of alarming residents.
He said: “If they have other sites in mind, let them say where they are. If they won’t, their silence speaks volumes. This week, I will submit a series of Freedom of Information requests to try and force the truth out of this council.
“Labour believes that Omega should be for creating good, sustainable jobs for talented Warrington people, not burning rubbish.”
Council leaders have accused Labour of scaremongering in the run up to the elections.
Coun Alan Litton, executive member for the environment, says a modern “energy from waste” plant will benefit Warrington.
It will burn rubbish that cannot be recycling, providing hot water and heating for local homes and business and generating electricity for the grid.
“It will produce less toxic emissions in a year than one small bonfire on bonfire night,” he said.
