Incinerator no vote may cost the county £150m

CORNISH taxpayers could be left with at least a £150 million bill, after the county council voted against plans for an incinerator back in March.

The enormous figure was revealed at a full Cornwall Council meeting, held at County Hall, Truro, during a question session with the public.

It comes after weeks of speculation about the cost of saying 'no' to plans for an incinerator in St Dennis.

A question was put to the council on the cost to the taxpayer in Cornwall, the cost of finding an alternative to deal with the county's waste, and the cost of re-writing the contract the council has with waste company Sita.

Councillor Adam Paynter replied: "It is not correct to say that the contract has to be re-written.

"There are a number of options that the council is considering in consultation with Sita.

"However, after going through various options, if it is not possible to obtain consent for a residual facility under the integrated waste management contract, it will probably be necessary to terminate it and start the process again.

"Until we know the timing of such a decision and the choice of technology, it is not possible to accurately cost an alternative, but it is likely to be an increase of at least £150 million."

Not everyone was convinced the figure was both accurate and fair.

One of these people was Elizabeth Hawken, who posed the question to the council at the meeting.

Elizabeth said: "The figure Mr Paynter said was a severe case of smoke and mirrors. We definitely wouldn't be hearing these figures if the council was proactive and had a back-up plan to fall back on if the incinerator didn't get the go-ahead.

Disregard

"What I find worrying is the complete disregard towards the sense of the Cornish people. It's like they say it's going to now cost everyone money and now everyone they hope will now want an incinerator again.

"But the Cornish aren't stupid, it was a terrible way of dealing with Cornwall's waste and it would have been hazardous to everyone's health. It's ridiculous – they made the right choice last month by saying 'no' and now are saying the cost of doing so will be huge."

The cost may not be passed on to the taxpayer, however, but may result in some services provided by the council facing cuts in funding.

A spokesman from Cornwall Council said: "It will be decided by members of the council, after the elections, as to how the money will be found. It may be an increase in council tax – but it may come from cutting back the funding of services provided by the council as well.

"The cost is calculated from a variety of factors including compensation to Sita for its investments to date."

Matthew Taylor MP said: "If Cornwall Council can find an alternative technology then the cost of compensation could fall dramatically."