“The prevailing winds are from the west which means most of the pollution will head straight for South and East Luton. We do not need more toxic Dioxins on top of the polluted air much of Luton already breathes.” – Liberal Democrat leader Cllr. David Franks.

Plans to build an incinerator to burn 500,000 tonnes of waste a year near the East Hyde sewage works have been slammed by Luton Liberal Democrats.

“There’s no way you can burn half a million tonnes of waste without throwing out tonnes of heavily polluted air”, says Liberal Democrat leader on Luton Council, David Franks. “The prevailing winds are from the west which means most of the pollution will head straight for South and East Luton. We do not need more toxic Dioxins on top of the polluted air much of Luton already breathes.”

“The only access to the proposed site is from Lower Harpenden Road and even if all of the waste was delivered on 40 tonne articulated lorries that would mean a minimum of 50 lorries into the site and 50 lorries out again every day. One hundred 40 tonne artics a day on Lower Harpenden Road does not sound to me like a good idea. Are the lorries coming away from the site going to be carrying the highly toxic ash the incinerator will produce?”

If the plan gets as far as a formal planning application it will have to be decided by Central Bedfordshire Council but Luton Council will be consulted and asked for its views. It is clear Liberal Democrat opposition councillors are pressing for a very strong objection.