Waste danger real despite false alarm

The Bexhill Against Landfill and Incineration Group (BALI) were speaking after reports on television news that East Sussex has already started to receive large quantities of London waste.

BALI say that is inaccurate, but the threat remains very real.

Bexhill has not yet been singled out as a dumping zone for London rubbish, but the blocking of plans to establish waste disposal facilities within the capital make it increasingly likely, say the group.

BALI say this removes an alternative to the proposed South East Plan, which would see the county receive 2.2 million tonnes of London waste over the next 20 years.

They believe the knock-on effect of this would be a new landfill site in Turkey Road.

The Ashdown Brickworks site has already been identified as a prime location for a dump in the East Sussex County Council Waste Local Plan - as previously reported in the Observer.

BALI chairman Nick Hollington said: "This (South East Plan) plan was produced by the unelected quango SEERA, who also brought us the infamous new housing targets and is, fortunately, shortly to be disbanded.

"You might think that London would support this plan to export its waste, but this is not completely so. While many 'lazy' London boroughs are happy just to get rid of their rubbish to others, the Mayor of London thinks this is unsustainable. He regards waste as a valuable resource and would like to establish a joint waste authority for all London which would create several large 'anaerobic digesters' that would capture heat and power for London residents from the waste.

"The (TV news) programme did not make clear, however, that the South East Plan has not yet been approved. It has been submitted by SEERA to Hazel Blears, the Communities and Local Government Minister, for comments and modifications and there will be no further report until July.

"Why then this present spate of alarm-raising articles and programmes not just in East Sussex, but throughout the South East? Well this is because it seems that Ken Livingstone's plans have almost certainly been blocked or at least delayed by Government and therefore the presumption is that the plan to export London Waste for the next 20 years will go ahead.

"East Sussex currently has only two landfill sites; Beddingham and Pebsham, which are due to, more or less, close this year and the facility designed to handle our waste, the Newhaven incinerator, is not yet built. While the planning application for the incinerator has been approved, it is still mired in legal challenges and, of course, will take time to build. By the end of this year we may have almost no waste disposal capacity in East Sussex for ourselves yet alone London!

"If the South East plan is approved it is for certain that all eyes will turn again to the only site in East Sussex identified in the county council Waste Local Plan for landfill - Ashdown Brickworks."

BALI say Bexhill residents may have been panicked after inaccurate reports on the BBC local news a planning application had been submitted for the site.

Mr Hollington added: "This is not the case."

He said BALI is currently working with Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council to draw up a 'waste and minerals development framework' which could see Turkey Road excluded from plans for landfill.

The group have been talking to the brickwork owners about their intentions and have suggested alternative uses for the quarries.

Mr Hollington said: "However, if a planning application to landfill Ashdown quarries were to be made in the meantime, we are ready to oppose it with all the means at our disposal. An experienced planning lawyer and barrister are retained by BALI and we will fiercely lobby all decision-makers using all the democratic means at our disposal."