As Deputy Leader of the Council, I continue to fully support the Council and its Leader on the resolution passed at the Extraordinary Meeting on 8th December 2004.

Ms Williams will be familiar with the background to the resolution passed at the meeting and the advice given to members, and in the light of this the resolution adopted would appear to be the only practical route that the Council could have followed. The Council would have incurred considerable costs had planning permission for the incinerator been revoked or contracts rescinded, and Council was advised that if this situation arose the Chief Financial Officer would intervene to prevent any such actions being taken.

Given that the Council would have been prevented by the statutory powers held by the Chief Financial Officer from taking the kind of action advocated by those campaigning against the incinerator, I believe that we took the best practical route available under the circumstances.

I hope that local residents who object to the incinerator will continue to raise their concerns with the Environment Agency and local Members of Parliament as suggested at the Council meeting on 8th December 2004.