LAST ditch attempts to extinguish a controversial incinerator deal – worth £651m – failed yesterday.

The contract allowing private contractor Viridor to build and run a waste incinerator near Ardley was agreed by Oxfordshire County Council last month.

But opponents of the scheme to tackle the county’s waste wanted the agreement postponed.

They said the technology was outdated, the deal exposed the council to huge financial risks, and was premature – planning permission for an incinerator has yet to be granted.

The decision was “called in” to the council’s growth and infrastructure scrutiny committee by Labour, Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Green councillors.

Committee chairman David Nimmo-Smith told the meeting its role was to look at the procurement process – and that other factors such as the technology were not within its remit. The committee voted that it was satisfied with the way the cabinet had made its decision.

An appeal against the refusal of permission is due to end in December and, if planning permission is granted, the incinerator could be operating by 2014.