In a marathon 6 hour meeting of Hampshire County Council's Regulatory Committee on 23rd February 2022, Veolia's planning application for a massive commercial waste incinerator in the rural Wey Valley was refused planning permission by elected HCC Councillors.
There were cheers in the packed room from No Wey Incinerator supporters as the vote took place, with an overwhelming vote of 12 Councillors voting against, and only three in favour.
Elected HCC Councillors on the Committee concluded that Veolia's proposals would have significant adverse impact on the character of the area, the wider landscape, and visual amenity, contrary to Policies 10 and 13 of Hampshire's Minerals and Waste Plan, and contrary to paragraphs 130, 174, 176 and 177 of the National Planning Policy Framework. Furthermore, they stated that the proposal did not demonstrate a special need for its location and the suitability of the site cannot be adequately justified, and is therefore contrary to Policies 27 and 29 of the Minerals and Waste Plan.
9 deputees spoke against the proposals, plus three local County Councillors, these being:
Emma Barnett, Adams Hendry Consulting, on behalf of No Wey Incinerator
Christopher Napier, CPRE Hampshire
Cllr Alison Melvin, Chair of Binsted Parish Council and Binsted Eco Network
William Butler, West End Flower Farm
Dr Alexandra Roberts, Froyle Parish Council
Cllr Mark Merryweather, Farnham Town Council
Cllr Adam Carew, Chair of East Hampshire District Council
Cllr Robert Mocatta, Hampshire County Councillor, East Hampshire District Councillor, and South Downs National Park Authority representative
Cllr Martin Tod, Hampshire County Councillor
Cllr Jackie Porter, Hampshire County Councillor
Cllr Andrew Joy, Hampshire County Councillor, who also read the deputation from Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP, who could not attend
Cllr Mark Kemp-Gee, Hampshire County Councillor
No Wey Incinerator would like to thank all the deputees for their critical contributions to the debate.
You can watch the full meeting (6 hours!) on HCC's YouTube channel.
County Councillors voted as follows:
Cllr Peter Latham, Chair (Cons, Fareham Town) - for
Cllr Lance Quantrill, Vice-Chair (Cons, Hayling Island) - for
Cllr Hugh Lumby (Cons, Meon Valley) - for
Cllr Stephen Broomfield (Cons, West End & Horton Heath) - against
Cllr Mark Cooper (LibDem, Romsey Town) - against
Cllr Rod Cooper (Cons, Farnborough West) - against
Cllr Keith House (LibDem, Hamble) - against
Cllr Adam Jackman (Cons, Farnborough South) - against
Cllr Alexis McEvoy (Cons, South Waterside) - against
Cllr Sarah Pankhurst (Cons, Fareham Titchfield) - against
Cllr Stephen Parker (Cons, Church Crookham) - against
Cllr Louise Parker-Jones (Ind, Bishopstoke) - against
Cllr Stephen Philpott (Cons, Bridgemary) - against
Cllr Roger Price (LibDem, Fareham Portchester) - against
Cllr Kim Taylor (Lab, Basingstoke Central) - against
No Wey Incinerator would like to thank Councillors on the Committee for ensuring that HCC upheld the highest standard of decision-making in accordance with HCC's agreed planning policies.
See some of the TV and press coverage.
While a planning appeal from Veolia is possible, and they have 6 months to do so, the comprehensive defeat for their proposals, and the reasons for refusal which cannot be disputed, hopefully make this less likely.
No Wey Incinerator would like to thank all our supporters and all those who have contributed to the campaign in many different ways over the past two years. We're all going to take a bit of a break now, but you can sign up to our mailing list or follow us on Facebook to be kept informed of latest developments.