WORK to build a £1.4bn household waste incinerator plant has started, following years of wrangling over the scheme.

North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and waste management company AmeyCespa have held a ground-breaking ceremony at the Allerton landfill site, off the A1, near Knaresborough.

The Allerton Waste Recovery Plant is designed to save the councils about £250 million on household waste treatment costs over the 25-year life of the contract.

The project has taken years longer than expected to reach this stage following legal challenges by campaigners, who were opposed to its location and questioned the councils' claims about its economic viability.

County councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member for waste and countryside services, said the plant would deal with household waste left over after recycling and composting, and some commercial waste from local businesses and offices, through anaerobic digestion and energy from waste incineration.

He said: “Starting construction on this facility marks the beginning of a new way of dealing with our household waste.

“It will result in a significant reduction in North Yorkshire’s and York’s carbon footprint and produce enough electricity to power a town the size of Harrogate."