Anti-incinerator fundraiser reaches £10,000

A £10,000 fundraising target to launch a legal challenge against a council's decision to permit an incinerator has been reached.

Organiser Malcolm Powell has now filed an application in court seeking a judicial review into Calderdale Council's granting of the environmental permit for the plant.

Calder Valley Skip Hire won planning permission, after appealing an initial rejection, to operate a small waste incineration plant at its site in Belmont, Sowerby Bridge.

The council approved the additional environmental permit, which was also rejected after the first application, in November.

Mr Powell initiated legal action over the first application too, but the permit was ultimately refused by planning inspector John Woolcock after a public inquiry, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council failed to give "adequate and intelligible" reasons for its decision and it failed to reach a conclusion on many of the issues raised, according to campaigners.

Councillor Danielle Durrans, cabinet member for public services, said council officers have deemed the incinerator legal and therefore the permit would not be rescinded.

The council and Calder Valley Skip Hire have until 13 March to respond to the court about the judicial review claim.

A judge will then review the papers and determine whether permission is given to proceed to a substantive hearing.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.