NORTH Yorkshire County Council has given the go-ahead for a controversial incinerator plant at Allerton Park near Knaresborough.
The decision was made this afternoon.
"NYCC councillors were asked to vote on the proposal to complete the 25-year waste management contract with AmeyCespa," said a spokeswoman for the council. "The proposal had already been discussed and endorsed by the County Council’s Executive members and City of York Council Cabinet members at meetings on September 9.
"The facility, at Allerton Park near Knaresborough, would treat the household waste left over after recycling and composting - plus some of commercial waste from local businesses and offices - through anaerobic digestion and energy from waste incineration."
She said it would result in "a significant reduction in North Yorkshire’s and York’s ‘carbon footprint’, provide a boost to the economy, and produce enough electricity to power a town the size of Harrogate".
"The proposal was agreed in principle in December 2010, when the County Council and City of York Council awarded a long term contract to AmeyCespa. Councillors voted today to approve the recommendation that the county council should now proceed to the final stage of the process, involving the ‘financial close’ with AmeyCespa," she said.
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