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Stephen Gilbert MPCornwall's voice in the Commons |
GILBERT: ‘CORNISH TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT BE FOOTING BILL FOR INCINERATOR LEGAL COSTS’
June 7, 2012 2:18 PM
The Liberal Democrat MP for mid-Cornwall, Stephen Gilbert, has called it outrageous that Cornwall Council tax payers have been left footing 90% of the legal costs towards Sita's defence of the proposed incinerator for St Dennis.
The application to build an incinerator at St Dennis, which has been opposed by Stephen Gilbert as a Parliamentary Candidate and as an MP, was rejected by all tiers of local government, including the former Cornwall County Council (which preceded Cornwall Council).
The rejection has since been appealed to the Secretary of State and has been considered by the High Court and the Court of Appeal, with determined local campaigners leading the opposition.
Despite Cornwall County Council's own opposition in March 2009, it has transpired this week that tax payers in the county have been forced to pick up a £136,818 portion of the legal costs to defend the application.
Local MP, Stephen Gilbert commented:
"Thanks to the incompetence of Cornwall Council's leadership the Cornish tax-payer is left in the nonsensical position of having to fork out to defend it the incinerator despite voting against it.
"I've been clear, since before becoming an MP, that one incinerator for Cornwall is the wrong technology and St Dennis is the wrong place. Every time local decision makers have been asked they have opposed this out of date idea that has every potential to become an enormous white elephant in the centre of Cornwall. Despite Cornwall Council's confused approach to this issue, local campaigners will continue to oppose the incinerator"