Police called to waste meeting

A Bexhill county councillor has explained why he voted in favour of the county waste plan - which earmarks the Ashdown clay pits in Turkey Road for future landfill.

Members of Bexhill Against Landfill / Incineration were among Tuesday protesters demonstrating outside County Hall before the council debate which approved the waste plan.

Bexhill Liberal Democrat member Cllr Martyn Forster voted against the plan. Local Conservatives Cllr Graham Gubby and Cllr Ron Dyason abstained.

But West Bexhill member Cllr Brian Gadd voted with the Conservative majority group in favour of the plan.

He told the Observer: "What I said in council - and this has upset a lot of BALI people and I cannot understand why - is that I was voting in favour of the plan because the whole plan must go through.

"The incinerator at Newhaven was the thing, though we face a fight over that. Onyx (the county's waste contractor) is on record as saying that they don't want Ashdown. Therefore, we can relax slightly.

"The line I took was that if Onyx change their mind then I will be at the forefront fighting them off. Ashdown is just one very small part of the whole panoply of the waste plan."

The waste local plan will be used to assess all planning applications for new waste facilities, including energy from waste, as well as those needed for recycling and composting, so that the councils can achieve their ambitious recycling targets.

There is a statutory 28 days notice following the county decision during which time the Secretary of State can either request modifications or hold a further Public Inquiry.

Police were called when demonstrators protested about being excluded from the county council chamber.

BALI chairman Nick Hollington said of the support shown by three out of four Bexhill county councillors: "We are happy to take this as a sign that we can work with those of our councillors who have demonstrated their commitment to the people of Bexhill by at least refusing to vote in favour of a plan with such devastating potential effects on our town.

"We are obviously, to say the least, disappointed to see the plan confirmed.

"It still lists Ashdown for landfill from 2008 using existing roads. They did not listen to any of our or Rother District Council's arguments '“ but then they also ignored all of the 8,400 objections and suggestions submitted in the recent consultation.

"I was angry to hear Matthew Lock, cabinet member for transport and environment, during the debate congratulate Bexhill on its 'quiet, patient tolerance of landfill' at Pebsham '“ so our reward is to receive another dump!

"Also later he spoke on BBC TV to tell Newhaven protesters they should feel lucky they were getting an incinerator rather than a landfill, because 'landfill produces large quantities of poisonous and greenhouse gases such as methane'.

"Thanks Matthew!"

The chairman said that, on the other hand, BALI were heartened by the support of local county councillors, "especially Conservative councillors who were under great pressure from their party whips."

"By abstaining they have also reserved their position regarding any future planning application to develop the site for landfill.

"We can now fight with them to oppose any such application, though I should reassure Bexhillians that Onyx, the county waste contractor, have expressed no interest in the Ibstock site, nor are Ibstock necessarily committed to using the site for landfill.

"But landfill capacity in East Sussex is rapidly running out and all this might change".

There were angry scenes before and during the meeting which was at one stage suspended because many members of the public, including BALI supporters, were locked out of an over-spilling council chamber.

As councillors had arrived for the meeting, they had run the gauntlet of banner-waving protesters from Bexhill and Newhaven.

A miniature incinerator pumped out foul-smelling smoke to replicate an incinerator effect while a drum beat out the rhythm for chants.

As protests became louder and more angry, and web-link screens in a viewing room remained blank, police were called to the room to keep the peace while attempts were made by officials and councillors to suspend the meeting.