THE Vale of White Horse District Council has restated its opposition to proposals for a £100m incinerator to dispose of Oxfordshire’s household waste.

In its reponse to a consultation paper from the Waste Recycling Group, which is seeking planning permission for an incinerator at Sutton Courtenay, between Abingdon and Didcot, the council said it was not satisfied that a case had been made for the burning of waste.

The proposed plant at Sutton Courtenay would be capable of disposing of 300,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.

A similar application has been lodged for an incinerator at a site in Ardley Fields, near Bicester, by waste firm Viridor.

Vale of White Horse council leader Tony de Vere said: “While we understand the need to reduce waste going to landfill, we can’t do this at any cost.

“There must be a convincing case for this incinerator – and we have not seen one yet.”

The authority has urged Oxfordshire County Council, which will make the final decison on whether to go ahead with plans to burn waste, to conduct more research about the possible impact of the incinerator.

Callum Mackenzie, who is a member of campaign group Sutton Courtenay Against Incineration, said: “We’re over the moon with this. It’s the most positive thing that we can hear.

“It just shows how Oxfordshire County Council needs to listen to the views of those who elected it.”

County council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said that there was a huge amount of evidence to suggest that incineration was a safe process.

The county council’s planning and regulation committee is due to consider the planning application on Monday, May 18.