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Appeal court gives go-ahead for radioactive waste dumping
News from The Peterborough Evening Telegraph, www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk
Thursday, 8.40am: PROTESTERS have vowed to fight on despite losing their Court of Appeal battle yesterday (18 January) over the decision to dump low-level radioactive waste at a landfill site near King’s Cliffe.
The Court of Appeal in London rejected their case, after a day-and-a-half of legal arguments, against the planning decision taken by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to allow Augean to process the waste at its East Northants Resource Management Facility.
The judges upheld Augean’s right to dispose of low-level waste at the site until the end of August 2013, by which time a permanent order may be in place.
The appeal had been lodged on behalf of the villagers by Louise Bowen-West who was also ordered to pay £5,000 toward the Government’s legal costs and refused permission to take the case to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court.
Augean started to process the waste at the site at the beginning of January prompting protests outside the landfill gates and a protest march through the streets of King’s Cliffe.
Half a dozen local residents travelled down to London both yesterday and on Tuesday as a show of support for the campaign and greeted the ruling with disappointment and defiance.
King’s Cliffe Waste Watchers campaigner Clare Langan said: “We are disappointed but not surprised at the verdict.
“This is not the end of the road. We are going to speak to our legal team to find out what other options are open to us.
“Augean also still have to get planning permission for the size of the tip and we will be there to have our views heard.”
However Lord Justice Laws found that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had made the “correct decision”.
He added that the impact of Augean’s long-term proposals would be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment when it makes its next planning application to extend the site and that the decision on any future application would not be prejudiced by the current situation.
An Augean spokesman said: “We are pleased that the presiding Lords Justice unanimously have found no merit in the claimants’ legal arguments and have dismissed the appeal.
“Augean are aware of the concerns of local residents and are committed to provide information in an open and transparent manner to reassure the local community.”
The company plans to add regularly updated information about their disposal of waste on its website at www.augeanplc.com
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Comments
There are 9 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
RMS_70
Monday, January 23, 2012 at 02:19 AMit`s apity holly and lula are not born and breed to peterborough and certainly not scholars but a couple of idiots
Richard Olive
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 08:10 PMWhat (if any)research have people such as 'brendee' have actually carried out before commenting? The fact is that the site is located over a limestone aquifer which not only supplies water to local springs but also discharges into the River Nene. This makes it an important LOCAL issue and thus makes the objections anything but straight forward? ( Note: water is pumped into Rutland Water just AFTER the point where Wittering Brook discharges into the R Nene). And the site will certainly produce leachate because the operators are incorporating a series of sumps around the site from which they'll collect some of it. It is interesting that a recent planning application in Lincolnshire for a super dairy located over the same limestone outcrop was refused because it was feared that leachate would seep into the groundwater. I wonder what pressure was exerted by government departments to ensure this development would go through.
brendee
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 02:09 PMI only hope that the members of the PROTESTERS legal team are giving their services free,because this campaign was a non-starter right from the word go. Even the most illiterate "barrack-room" lawyer could have deduced the outcome of this ill-fated attempt to halt a straightforward planning request which clearly would have no effect whatsoever on the local populace. If they ARE charging,then SHAME ON THEM for abusing the system,and shame on those who encouraged them purely for their own egoism.
HollygoLula
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 11:41 AM@3...i wasnt serious, i was merely reflecting the futility of paying 'green taxes'
HollygoLula
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 11:40 AM@3 freddievonlinkabottom....No i am not that person, i merely changed my name in respect of the 2 great scholars of Peterborough opinion, HollygoLightly & LulaMaeBarnes...or is it 1 great scholar?
Bamboozler
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 09:28 AMThey lost because they didn't have a string enough case. Augean did their homework, provided their evidence and with the case taking 1 12 days there was great consideration given as to the viabiliry and safety of the project. You cannot simply go in saying, we don'tr want it therefore we shouldn't have it. Everybody can do that. There is great deal of cost in dumping it in Kings Cliffe, as there is anywhere.
Freddievonklinkabottom
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 09:04 PMHollygolula hmmmm sounds like hollygolightly ???? Is that u ?
*Lula Mae Barnes*
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 07:20 PMHollyogLulu @1 No! You've got it all mixed up! It's ok because it is Kings Cliffe. I don't see what the fuss is about - if any resident wants to sell me their home due to their misguided concerns about insignificant radioactive waste, then let me know.
HollygoLula
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 06:22 PMSo, it is bad for the environment if i drive my 4x4, and therefore i am forced to pay an astronomical amount of tax....but it is ok to put radioactive material into the ground? Yeah, right!
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