A CONSULTATION on the proposed site for a controversial £600million incinerator has been branded a sham by a leading Suffolk politician.

Neil Puffett

A CONSULTATION on the proposed site for a controversial £600million incinerator has been branded a sham by a leading Suffolk politician.

As revealed by The Evening Star on Saturday, county chiefs made an eleventh hour decision to withhold the names of possible sites for the controversial project as part of a public consultation launched this week.

The authority had been expected to unveil a list of alternatives to the preferred Great Blakenham site on Monday, so members of the public could have their say. However that move has been put off until a second stage of consultation begins in November.

The situation has already been criticised by anti-incinerator campaigners but now a prominent politician has hit out at the decision.

Andrew Cann, deputy leader of Suffolk's Lib Dem Group, said the authority is keeping important information from the public.

He said: “The county council has a particularly dismal record on consultation, even more dismal when it comes to the waste incinerator which they have been secretive about the whole way.

“They still refuse to support the idea of having an open public enquiry.

“They wish to retain the ability to decide on the site of a new incinerator themselves and in their recent announcement that they are going to go back on a promise to reveal the sites they are considering they are showing contempt again for local people.

“The consultation is a sham and I believe just another example of them keeping information from the public.”

Over the next nine weeks Suffolk County Council will consult with statutory groups, such as the Environment Agency, Natural England, district and borough councils as well as town and parish councils to get views on what criteria they think should be considered for deciding on sites for waste.

Views from members of the public are also being sought.

The proposed sites for waste facilities will be announced in November prior to a plan being proposed in Spring next year.

Suffolk County Council said it took the decision not to name the sites as it “makes no sense” to consult on sites that won't make the grade.

People can participate in the current consultation until October 10 online at http://suffolk.jdiconsult.net/ldf/ or by post to: Graham Gunby, Minerals and Waste Policy Manager, Suffolk County Council, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich IP1 2BX.

Should the council come clean on sites being considered for the incinerator? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk