Welcome to the new website for the Stop The South London Incinerator Campaign.

March details

Please join the anti-incinerator march this Sunday, May 13th.  We will be leaving Mayday Hospital, London Road, Croydon at 11:00 and walking to Croydon Town Hall.  There we will be laying a symbolic wreath made of recyclable rubbish.  We will then congregate in Queens Gardens for some speeches and retire to the Green Dragon pub afterwards

JOIN US FOR THE MARCH ON MAY 13TH

A large number of residents and shopkeepers on London Road (Croydon) have recently joined the the Stop Incinerator campaign, mainly due to the coverage in the local newspapers. As a result of this recent influx, and the frustration felt by this community, many of whom were affected by the riots, the Committee of the Stop The Incinerator campaign have called for march to the Town Hall on Sunday May 13th at 11am.

THE DECISION TO BUILD THE INCINERATOR IS ANNOUNCED

South London’s worst kept secret is now officially in the open with the announcement of Viridor as the preferred bidder for the South London Waste Partnership’s £990 million waste treatment contract. The way is now clear for Viridor to seek planning permission to build an incinerator in Beddington capable of burning 275,000 tonnes of waste per year and costing £200 million. It is expected that Viridor will make a detailed planning application by the middle of this year.
Stop the South London Incinerator are also concerned at Virdor’s greenwash misinformation in which they refer to the incinerator as an Energy Recovery Facility (ERF). However, maximising recycling instead of burning resources achieves a much greater energy gain, simply by not having to go through all the energy intensive processes needed to extract the resources needed to manufacture products (www.pembina.org).  That’s why a plant that burns waste should be referred to by its main function: an incinerator.

The £24,000 payoff to Burger King by Croydon University Hospital should act as a warning to the South London Waste Partnership and the four London Boroughs it works with. A decision which was made to earn money and was against the health interests of hospital patients and visitors ends up in a financial loss. Hospital bosses cite that the ‘world had changed’ since the original contract was signed. Councillors from the four SLWP boroughs should take note.

THE FAILURE OF DEMOCRACY

The Joint Members Waste Plan Group (two councillors per borough) met this evening The meeting was closed to members of the public and journalists. However, a reporter from the Croydon Guardian was advised to the content of the “restricted documents”. The incinerator is indeed planned for Beddington and the winning contractor is Viridor. Full report here:

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/9352209.New__incinerator__proposal_to_be_announced_shortly/?ref=mr

Councillors across the four boroughs will now adopt the SLWP. The timetable is as follows:

Croydon Council

• Monday 23 January 2012 - Cabinet

• Monday 30 January 2012 - full Council

Kingston Council

• Tuesday 29 November 2011- Kingston Place and Sustainability

• Tuesday 24 January 2012 - Kingston full Council

Merton Council

• Wednesday 16 November 2011 - Merton Borough Plan Advisory Committee

• Monday 12 December 2011 - Merton Cabinet

• Wednesday 01 February 2012 - Merton full Council

Sutton Council

• Tuesday 29 November 2011 - Sutton Planning Advisory Group

• Monday 12 December 2011 or Wednesday 18th January 2012 - Executive

• Monday 05 March 2012 - Sutton full Council

CONSULTATION ENDS

The latest consultation closed on 20th September. An example of a response from a residents group can be viewed here. The inspector found the document “sound” in planning terms provided all but one of the changes proposed are incorporated.  
The Inspector’s Report, and the remaining timetable can be viewed here:

www.merton.gov.uk/wasteplan

DEMONSTRATION/UPDATE ON PUBLIC HEARINGS

On 12th July Senior Planning Inspector, Brian Cook, appointed by the Secretary of State, will examine the soundness of the South London Waste Plan. The public hearings will be held at Merton Civic Centre. They are scheduled to last one week. Disappointingly, the Inspector has not exercised his right to request a submission from Friends of the Earth, the Green Party or anyone else who may object to the plan. Mr Cook had the opportunity to reassure anxious residents worried about the plan. As a consequence, our group has decided to stage a demonstration at the start of the hearings.
Please join us as we assemble outside Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden SM4 5DX at 9am on 12th July.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

The Secretary of State has appointed Inspector Brian Cook BA (Hons) Dip TP MRTPI to conduct the Examination-in-Public into the South London Waste Plan. The public hearings are scheduled to commence at 9.30am on Tuesday 12 July 2011 and may run over two weeks. They will take place at Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX

Timetable

INSPECTOR’S MAIN MATTERS, ISSUES AND QUESTIONS

New public consultation

There is currently a new public consultation running for the South London Waste Plan proposals. It is the "Publication Stage". Please visit the site and make comments.

The deadline for representations is midnight on Tuesday 15th February.

http://southlondonwasteplan.limehouse.co.uk/portal

Sign our Stop the Incinerator Petition here

Incinerator meeting at Beddington Village Hall

Sutton Lib Dems called a meeting with the residents of Beddington Village on Saturday 6th February 2010.

Some key points made:

1. Rising landfill tax - a stick being used by the government that faces massive EU fines if the percentage of waste sent to landfill is not "reduced to 35% by 2020" - was given as the main reason why an alternative solution was needed.
2. Councillor Hall suggested that gasification was "similar as incineration"
3. The four contractors on the shortlist for are:

• Resources from Waste - which seems to be a front for John Laing
  

• Veolia - Croydon's present contractor

• Viridor - Sutton's present contractor

• Waste Recycling Group - a Spanish operator.

4. The only technology not on the table is an "old fashioned mass burn incinerator"
5. An additional consultation has now commenced which covers 8 new sites, including Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium. These have been suggested via the second consultation. However, Tom Brake MP all but said this was just a legal requirement so that a future challenge was not made to the South London Waste Partnership.

Latest consultation

Waste Decision Delayed after unexpected influx of criticism
(we are making a difference)

Today Shasha Khan commented on the decision to delay the decision on the waste site:

"I can’t believe the announcement came out on Christmas week – actually I can! No doubt, they were hoping that residents would be preoccupied and would miss this news.
I am relieved that 1200 residents took the time to submit concerns and objections to the South London Waste Partnership regarding the proposed “waste management site”, and I thank each and every one of them.  As co-founder of the Stop The Incinerator campaign our intention was to raise awareness of the second stage consultation and draw attention to the likely outcome: a waste burner.
It seems our awareness raising campaign has had some success. The South London Waste Partnership has tripped up over its own sham consultation. Clearly they were not expecting so many objections. Cynically, they have decided to hold back the proposals until after May’s local election. No doubt the location and the technology selected will provoke a backlash.

Unsurprisingly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – the Labour Government – is now pushing for the waste plan to be submitted in order to avoid EU fines. I spoke to the Government office for London yesterday and they indicated a submission needed to be made by July 2010 in order to avoid fines. What is becoming more apparent is that Labour doesn’t care if a health damaging incinerator is built to cut the waste sent to landfill, just so long it can avoid these fines which could amount to millions of pounds."

Official launch of the
Stop The Incinerator Campaign.

Wednesday 23rd September - 7.30pm, Ruskin House
23 Coombe Road, Croydon CR0 1BD.
We have guest speakers who defeated the proposed mass burn incinerator in Capel, Surrey PLUS other information.

Stage 2 Consultation - South London Waste Plan Potential Sites and Policies:
20th July to 16th October 2009
Public workshops will be hosted in each affected borough during the consultation period. Croydon: 7th September, 7pm, Croydon Clocktower
Kingston : 16th September, 7pm, The Guildhall, Kingston
Merton: 9th September, 7pm, Civic Centre, Morden
Sutton: 28th September, 7pm, Civic Offices, Sutton

Have your say in the public consultation!

Follow the web link here. You will have to register first, but you can then choose whether to view the short or full questionnaire. You can then complete the questionnaire online by clicking on the “read and comment on document” link. Alternatively, please download a hard copy from the ‘ supporting documents tab. ' Hard copies of the documents are also available in libraries and main council receptions or from the Project Manager. Phone: 020 8547 5375 or visit:

southlondonwasteplan@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

Croydon Council admit the obvious
BUT Incineration by another name is still incineration

As the evidence mounts, Croydon Council admit for the first time that an incinerator cannot be ruled out.

Read the article here.

After claiming the Green Party had been "going around frightening people about incinerators", they now admit that incineration is being considered. In an effort to move the goal posts, Councillor Thomas now claims burning waste is not incineration. Lies are not lies, they are "economies of truth".
After previously insisting any claims that plans would likely lead to incineration were "absolute nonsense", he now seeks to hide in the comfort of terminology. "We will never have one of those old types of incinerators, the ones with the smoking chimneys", says the Councillor. This really is absolute nonsense. Any kind of waste burning requires gases to be vented. The idea that Croydon Council will build a special kind of incinerator that defies science also defies common sense.

The Croydon Guardian publishes a front page news story about the looming incinerator.

Following revelations provided by Croydon Greens, the Croydon Guardian print a front page story warning that Croydon Council have started to invite bids for the incineration of municipal, commercial and even hazardous and radioactive waste within the boundaries of Croydon, Sutton, Merton & Kingston.

Croydon Greens unearthed a £1 billion pound tender contract, inviting bids for the following services - all listed in codes from the EU Common Procurement Vocabulary:

1. 9051330 = Incineration
2. 9051390 = Sludge disposal
3. 90520000 = Radioactive, toxic, medical and hazardous waste services
4. 90524200 = Clinical waste disposal
5. 45252300 = Refuse incinerator construction