Residents seek to challenge Secretary of State approval of incinerator plans

Campaigners have launched a crowdfunding campaign for a statutory review of the Government's decision to call in and hand planning permission to an incinerator that Dorset Council had initially rejected.

Stop the Portland Waste Incinerator has raised £6,000 of its £30,000 funding goal to challenge the plans for the new facility on Portland Port.

In September of this year, the Secretary of State for Housing Communities & Local Government gave the green light for the project on the recommendation of a planning inspector, despite the council's previous decision to reject plans for the facility.

The council refused permission for the incinerator in March 2023, noting that the development's scale, massing and height would have a "significant adverse effect" on the landscape and views of the Isle of Portland.

It also said the development is located on a site that is not allocated in the council's local waste plan and failed to demonstrate that it would provide sufficient advantages as a waste management facility over the already-allocated sites.

The council also cited the distance from the main sources of Dorset's residual waste generation and the site's limited opportunity to offer co-location with other waste management or transfer facilities.

Powerfuel Portland, the firm behind the application, appealed the decision, leading to a planning inspector conducting an inquiry.

Planning inspector Paul Griffiths later recommended that the appeal be allowed and permission granted, finding that the development was not in conflict with any development plan policies and that heritage benefits and job creation carried significant weight.

The campaign group behind the legal challenge claims "overwhelming community opposition" to the incinerator.

Powerfuel Portland says the development "is fully consistent with national and local waste policy, which supports efficient energy recovery from residual waste".

It also noted that the site will be capable of exporting enough partially renewable low-carbon energy to power around 30,000 homes.

Dorset Council has recently ruled out launching its own legal action in order to avoid costly litigation.

Adam Carey