CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after the government threw out controversial plans to expand a Northwich incinerator, haling it a ‘victory for common sense’.

The £480m Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant (LSEP) was given planning permission by the government back in 2012 and is still under construction.

But controversy had surrounded fresh plans submitted by the company – a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and FCC Environment – to increase capacity.

If given the go ahead, it would have seen the amount of waste burned rise from 600,000 to 728,000 tonnes a year, with a huge increase in the number of daily HGV movements from 262 to 434. Its opening hours would also have been extended.

With the decision out of the council’s hands, it fell on the Secretary of State to decide. Campaigners, including Northwich Cllr Sam Naylor and the town’s MP had called on the government to throw out the proposals.

And in a letter to Cheshire West and Chester Council - which had also formally objected to the proposals - David Wagstaff, Head of Energy Infrastructure Planning Dept for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, said the plans had now been rejected.

In the letter, he wrote: “The Secretary of State has considered the overall planning balance, and considers that the increase in the number of HGV movements and the proposed increase in delivery hours, as well as the premise upon which the varied consent was granted, weigh against the granting of the application.”

Cllr Naylor welcomed the news. He said: “This is a victory for common sense and for the many individuals and organisations who campaigned against this crazy application to create additional pollution and congestion in Lostock and the surrounding area.

He added: “What l and Mike Amesbury and many others will now fight for is for all of the waste to be brought into Lostock via the existing railhead because there is still the existing permission to burn 600,000 tonnes of waste per year at this huge under construction incinerator.”

Northwich MP Mike Amesbury, said: “This is great news. It would have been incredibly damaging for the environment, in terms of air pollution and increased congestion caused by the hundreds of extra HGVs bringing additional waste to the plant.

“One solution myself and others did put their way was to move more by freight using the onsite rail facility. But the fundamental argument is this incinerator technology is past its sell-by date even before it’s been built.

“Today is a victory for people power. Residents, myself and local representatives like Cllr Sam Naylor and the Town Council objected and we all marched in protest to the site. We hammered away and refused to give up."

“Of course, we’re not going to rest on our laurels, neither as the MP nor the broader community, but this is a day to celebrate.”

A spokesman for LSEP said the company was now 'considering its options'.

He said: “We are disappointed with the decision to refuse our plans, which would maximise the efficiency of the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant and support national ambitions to become more energy secure and decarbonise by displacing energy that would otherwise come from a fossil fuel power station.

“LSEP Ltd and its shareholders remain committed to delivering the project, which is already under construction and scheduled to begin operating by the end of 2025. We will take time to review the reasons provided for the decision and consider our options.”