Corby incinerator petition presented to Parliament

The waste plant is proposed for a former steelworks site on the Weldon North Industrial Estate but has attracted local opposition from environment campaigners.

Last week Corby councillors sent their official response to the plans to Northampton County Council, who will make the ultimate decision on the £200m scheme. Although they did not raise any objections, they asked them to look at eight key concerns.

A petition against the scheme was signed by 1,481 local people. It stated: "Corby is to get anywhere up to 4 CHP facilities according to the Northamptonshire Local Waste Plan, one of the sites at Shelton road Corby is right next door to a new housing estate with schools etc and also near Corby Business Academy where our brightest youngsters are studying.

"The EfW (energy from waste) industry is an explosive one with numerous accounts of plants exploding causing death and injury to workers and others nearby, the incineration of waste for energy recovery is near the bottom of the waste hierarchy for a reason, it's a waste of valuable resources, explosive, harmful to the environment and local communities and does not form part of a circular economy.

"To build one of these near an already existing housing estate with schools etc is just madness. Let's find another more suitable site where hard working people and children are not a stone's throw away from this invasive and unproven technology."

Tom Pursglove presented the petition in parliament on Monday. A decision on the scheme is expected to be made shortly.