Basildon Conservatives have been made aware that a company called Clearaway are launching a consultation, presumably in advance of submitting a planning application to Essex County Council, for an incinerator in Pitsea (at land south of Archers Field Close, SS13 1DN).

"a proposal to build an incinerator here is clearly ludicrous and makes no sense." ~ Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of Basildon Conservatives 

For the past 20 years, Conservatives at every level – from us as a Conservative Group on Basildon Borough Council, to our colleagues on Essex County Council and our Members of Parliament – have campaigned against this kind of development and we are clear and speak with one single voice when we say NO INCINERATION IN ESSEX. Basildon Conservatives are clear, we will oppose any plan in install an incinerator in our borough.

But we recognise that words and platitudes are cheap. What are we doing?

We have already been in touch with our three Borough MPs to join the fight to stop this. We will be sharing details of the public consultation that Clearaway are conducting, to co-ordinate a public response and lead the charge in opposing an incinerator. We will be sharing links on our website and across our social media platforms, and encourage you to share them, to ensure the maximum public response and send a message to Clearaway that we do not want their incinerator here. Stephen Metcalfe MP, Member of Parliament for South Basildon & East Thurrock, said: "I join my council colleagues in opposing this plan. It can't be right that as we try to improve our air quality and clean up our environment that the only way to deal with our waste is to burn it."

"It can't be right" ~ Stephen Metcalfe MP (Con, South Basildon & East Thurrock)

Cllr Andrew Baggott, Leader of the Basildon Council Conservative Group, said: “I will be writing to Clearaway to express our concerns and recommend in the strongest possible terms that they consider other options elsewhere. With Defra having identified a serious problem with air quality in the same area, a proposal to build an incinerator here is clearly ludicrous and makes no sense. I call on the Leader of Basildon Council and the Alliance to unite behind this clear message and support our stand.”  Pitsea South-East ward councillors, Cllr Luke Mackenzie and Cllr Craig Rimmer, added: "We will not accept an incinerator in Pitsea or anywhere else in the Borough. We will defeat this however long it takes. Our residents' health and our environment are our highest priorities. The Government has already said that pollution in the area is too high and this will just add to the problem."

"We will defeat this however long it takes." ~ Cllrs Craig Rimmer & Luke Mackenzie (Cons, Pitsea South-East)

Cllr Tony Ball, Conservative County Councillor for Wickford Crouch and Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Essex County Council, said: “This is not a planning application but no doubt the applicants will look to submit a planning application in due course, which the Council will determine in line with its quasi-judicial responsibilities. However, the Council has historically made known its concerns around the burning of materials and it will be up to the applicant to satisfy those concerns. There is also the issue of the location of the site, which is adjacent to the clean air zone identified by Essex County Council and Basildon Council and the cumulative effect of waste processing in Pitsea.”

“I would call on all interested parties to engage with this consultation, whether positively or negatively, to inform the applicants of the issues so that, if a planning application is submitted, they can be addressed.”

We will update this website with details of the consultation as soon as we have them. In the meantime, sign our petition here.