At their permission hearing at the Court of Appeal in London today (15 October 2013), Marton –cum-Grafton Parish Council were refused permission to appeal the High Court’s Judgment handed down in August 2013. The August judgment refused a Judicial Review into the AWRP planning permission.
County Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways and planning services, said:
I am pleased that the planning process has been vindicated in the Court of Appeal and that the High Court Judge was right to rule that our Planning and Regulatory Functions Committee was right to grant planning permission for the development.
The Council has said it will now work with AmeyCespa on the final stage of the project leading to Financial Close when the costs and value for money will be confirmed. It is anticipated that this will be in late spring next year.
Andrew Jones MP said:
It is disappointing that this long-running and divisive process continues. The reasons why the County Council should stop and think again are absolutely clear.
The Private Finance Initiative funding upon which the contract with Amey Cespa was granted and upon which basis the County Council voted for it has gone.
The government has ruled that there is enough incineration capacity in our area already so why build more when it isn’t needed. Incineration is an old technology and there are modern treatments for waste that use it as a resource rather than simply burn it.
Wherever we are with the planning process the fact remains that the incinerator is not needed to dispose of our waste and not wanted by local communities. I am concerned that there is a blinkered approach which is refusing to re-examine other options no matter how the circumstances are changing and this will, if seen through to its conclusion, do a great disservice to local people and a great disservice to Council Taxpayers from across North Yorkshire.
