So now we know. It is a straight race between Sutton Courtenay and Ardley to see who gets Oxfordshire's first incinerator for rubbish that cannot be recycled.

Of course, this is a race that neither village will want to win. And there will be those, largely in the green movement, who will argue that an incinerator is entirely the wrong solution for Oxfordshire's waste mountain.

One suspects that Sutton Courtenay will be the favourite to win this particular race. We are no experts but two key aspects come to mind.

One is the proximity of Sutton Courtenay to Didcot Power Station and access to the National Grid. These incineration plants will generate electricity as a by-product.

The second is the rail link to London and the existing traffic of waste from London to landfill at Sutton Courtenay. Any operator worth its salt will have an eye to incinerating not only Oxfordshire's waste but waste from elsewhere too.

That could give such an operator a price advantage.

Sutton Courtenay has become home to a landfill site for Oxfordshire and for London. It is one thing for us to accept incineration of Oxfordshire's waste but should we be expected to incinerate waste for London and other parts of the South East too?

No doubt, this subject will be raised during the coming negotiations between County Hall and the potential contractors. The county must guard against the prospect of an Oxfordshire plant treating waste from a greater region.