CONSERVATIVE councillors have been accused of putting recycling rates at risk after approving an extension to a “superfluous” £200m energy from waste incinerator – having being told Michael Gove would have voted against it.

The scheme on the site of Britain’s last deep-pit coal mine at Kellingley, North Yorkshire was granted planning permission in 2013, but in preparing the building for construction it had become apparent the amount of waste it could process was about 350,000 tonnes per year, 25 per cent more than initially envisaged.

A spokesman said the Peel Environmental scheme said it would represent an investment in the county of more than £200 million, create 375 full-time jobs over the three-year construction period, 38 full-time jobs to operate the plant, and contribute £1.1m to business rates and that construction was scheduled to start within a few months.

North Yorkshire County Council’s planning committee was told there were numerous incinerators within a two-hour radius of the proposed site, including two just a few miles away at Ferrybridge with a capacity for one million tonnes of waste as well as the huge plant at Allerton Park, which deals with waste from North Yorkshire and York.

Objector Mary McCartney highlighted how Environment Secretary Michael Gove had agreed that an over capacity of incinerators could lead to recyclable materials being diverted to incinerators.

She told the committee: “Michael Gove would vote against this application. This incinerator is not needed. It will put at risk recycling rates.”

Independent councillor John McCartney said in order to get the investment back the incinerator would need to import waste from around the country and “take stuff that could be recycled”.

He said: “They will burn anything won’t they? They’ll be taking the pews out of Selby Abbey to burn them.”

The meeting was told “carting plastics around the country” was not carbon efficient.

A number of members agreed the scheme would probably have been rejected if it was considered today, but said they had been left with little option but to approve the extension.

After Conservative members saw the scheme approved while opposition councillors opposed it, Cllr McCartney said the Tories would have to bear responsibility for a significant increase to an unnecessary incinerator.