AROUND 280 worried residents have attended a protest in Westbury against plans to build a £200 million energy from waste incinerator in the town.

The protest in the Market Place and High Street was organised by members of the Westbury Gasification Action Group / No Westbury Incinerator.

Former Westbury mayor, Cllr Mike Sutton, said: “This is just a spontaneous protest by the people of Westbury against the incinerator.

“But more importantly, they are doing it at this time because we are hoping that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, will call it in for a public inquiry where all of the issues can be aired in a more natural and neutral forum.

“We thought this was a good time to say we are still here, but also to remind the Secretary of State that people do care, people do matter.”

A joint venture company, Northacre Renewable Energy, owned by Swindon-based Hills Group and the Bioenergy Infrastructure Group, was given planning approval by Wiltshire Council in 2019 for an advanced thermal treatment plant on the Northacre Industrial Estate in Westbury.

Earlier this year, Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee voted 7-4 to allow NREL to change the technology for the incinerator from ATT to moving grate combustion.

Cllr Sutton said 2,386 people had written to Wiltshire Council objecting to the scheme, with only six supporting it.

NREL is waiting for the Environment Agency to decided its application for an operating permit for the incinerator.

Cllr Sutton added: “ The Environment Agency can only deal with compliance and with regulations.

“What is starting to alarm people is whether Hills are actually the right people to run this. Their history of running the Waste Resource Recovery Centre has not been that good.”

Westbury mayor, Cllr Sheila Kimmins, said: “We really do want Robert Jenrick to call this in. So many people have turned out today to show that Westbury doesn’t want an incinerator.

“We have a number of problems with Hills already with the smell and having an incinerator does not induce people to recycle.

“All they are saying is that you dont’ have to recycle we will burn it, which is not the answer.”