HC Deb 17 January 2001 vol 361 cc260-1W
Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the planning status is of each site in the county of Essex which has been identified as a possible location for a waste incinerator. [145845]

Mr. Mullin

The sites at Whitehall Road, Colchester; North Weald Airfield, Epping Forest; and Courtauld Road, Basildon; have been identified in the draft Essex and Southend Waste Local Plan as potential locations for major waste management facilities, but the waste planning authorities recognise that they may be developed for alternative industrial uses. The other five identified sites at Rivenhall Airfield, Silver End, Braintree; land east of Warren Lane, Stanway; Pitsea Landfill site, Basildon; Rayleigh sub-station, Al29/A130, Rayleigh; and Sandon, Chelmsford are exclusively allocated for major waste management facilities only. The draft Waste Local Plan does not indicate a preference for a particular type of facility at any of these sites, but states that incinerators with energy recovery may be permitted provided that certain specified criteria are met.

Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from Essex county council about the county's draft Waste Local Plan; and if he will make a statement. [145847]

Mr. Mullin

The draft Essex and Southend Waste Local Plan was the subject of a lengthy public inquiry at which all objections were considered by an independent Inspector. The Inspector's report is currently being considered by the waste planning authorities, and in due course they will publish their response to the Inspector's findings and their proposed modifications to the plan.

When this matter was debated in the House on 12 December 2000, I explained that, in view of the Secretary of State's quasi-judicial role, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the merits of the Essex and Southend Waste Local Plan. I also gave my assurance that we will carefully examine the proposed modifications published by the waste planning authorities in the light of the Inspector's recommendations, the Government's waste strategy and national policies on waste disposal.

Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will seek medical and scientific evidence from the World Health Organisation and the European Union on the use of incinerators to burn waste in other countries; and if he will make a statement. [145844]

Mr. Mullin

Incinerators emit a variety of pollutants, of potential concern on health grounds, as indeed do many industrial processes. Our regulation of incinerators therefore requires emissions to be tightly controlled, at a minimum consistent with the limit values prescribed in EU legislation. These regulatory decisions, and the limit values themselves, are based on the best evidence from the scientific and medical community on the effects of air pollutants, including WHO and EU sources, (who commissioned work explicitly for the recently adopted Waste Incineration Directive).

Any new information from the World Health Organisation or the European Union, and any substantial scientific studies of the health impacts of waste incinerators to be published in the scientific literature are kept under review by officials. If necessary this can be referred for consideration by expert advisory committees such as the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollutants.