Protestors call for rethink on waste plant at meeting (From Haringey Independent)

Protestors call for rethink on Pinkham Way waste plant at North London Waste Authority meeting

2:38pm Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News By Chris Hewett

Protestors fighting stuttering plans for a major waste plant on the Barnet and Enfield border are calling for a rethink from the project’s directors.

Figureheads of the North London Waste Authority will meet on Monday in the wake of serious setbacks to their 15-year strategy.

The authority, comprising seven London boroughs including Barnet, Enfield and Haringey, spent five years compiling the joint waste strategy, which includes the building of a huge waste treatment plant in Pinkham Way, New Southgate.

In June, a public inquiry into the feasibility of the plan was halted after just 90 minutes when it emerged the authority had failed in its duty to co-operate with other affected councils in the south east of England.

An attempt to redesignate the Pinkham Way site to industrial land in order to bring it into line with the London Plan criteria for the siting of waste plants also failed.

Next week’s meeting represents the first opportunity for interested parties to gauge the reaction of the NLWA to what many see as fatal setbacks to their current plans.

Bidesh Sarkar, chairman of the Pinkham Way Alliance, fighting the proposals, believes the meeting will provide an opportunity to redesign the strategy.

He said: “What we’re really after is recognition that the process they anticipated has really ground to a halt. It is a real moment for reflection.

“We want them to engage in some real consultation with the community and waste providers to come up with a new, sensible, sustainable strategy for north London and beyond.

“They may have an approach in their minds and a mentality that is adversarial but they should put that to one side and work with us and others.”

It is not yet known how much, if any, of the meeting will be made public but Mr Sarkar expects the directors to hold any major discussions behind closed doors.

He said: “It is unlikely we will be allowed in for any issues of substance. A lot of people within the community have spent a lot of time getting to grips with the processes and the issues so whatever decision or approach they take, they will be scrutinised very closely.

“The track they are on is the wrong one and it is very dangerous. We want them to step back and rethink it.”

The Independent Series is awaiting comment from the NLWA.