SOUTH West Wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison says he hopes Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, calls in NREL’s plans following Wiltshire Council’s decision.

Although it now has permission to change the technology from advanced thermal treatment to moving grate combustion, NREL’s plans for an operating permit for the proposed £200m energy from waste incinerator are still being considered by the Environment Agency.

Dr Murrison said: “Wiltshire Council have approved NREL’s proposal for a carbon-belching incinerator, despite my appeal to vote it down.

“Let’s hope Robert Jenrick exercises his judgement and calls it in - I asked him to do so last week.”

Bill Jarvis, of Wiltshire Climate Alliance, said he was “very disappointed” with the strategic planning committee’s decision.

He said: “It is very disappointing but not surprising. They said they were not going to vote along party political lines and then they did.

“I am absolutely staggered about the Arla issue. If they are not taking that into account they run the risk of losing one of Westbury’s leading businesses.

“Arla is a massive business and we can’t just pretend that sort of thing won’t happen.

“This is wrong. It is a strategic issue for the whole country. The Secretary of State has already turned down one waste incinerator like this.”

Mr Jarvis said the new facility being proposed is likely to lead to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere in Westbury.

He urged the Westbury Gasification Action Group/No Westbury Incinerator, which has campaigned against the facility for more than three years, to take further action.

“We have got to persuade the Secretary of State for the Environment to take this seriously because there is a real chance he won’t.”

Arla Foods has yet to comment on Wiltshire Council's decision but Alison Rance, the company's Vice President of Production, warned the council they need access to clean air.

She said that any degradation of the air used for its dairy products could lead to production being suspended.

The company is a leading UK producer of dairy products, including Anchor butter, and employs 250 people in its Westbury factory.