PORTLAND Town Council has pledged £40,000 to pay for a review into a controversial waste incinerator application at the port - in moves which one councillor fears will bankrupt the authority.

In an Extraordinary Full Council meeting yesterday, Portland town councillors voted to allocate £40,000 of money from the general reserves, of which there is roughly £180,000, to be spent on commissioning specialist reviews of an application made by Powerfuel to build a waste incinerator at Portland Port.

The controversial £100m plant would use waste as fuel to produce 15MW of low carbon energy, enough to power around 30,000 homes.

At the meeting, six councillors voted in favour of allocating the money to fund reviews and one voted against. The reviews must be completed by September 3, which is when a public consultation into the incinerator will close.

Councillor Bernard Parkes said: "This is the biggest issue to hit the island in a long time and the impact could last for 100 years. It is such a big issue so we should support the reports examining the application."

In a statement to other councillors, Cllr Giovanna Lewis, who was unable to vote due to her involvement in campaign group Stop Portland Waste Incinerator (SPWI), said: "We have to remember that the council voted against this incinerator last year and we have to defend that now."

Cllr Charlie Flack was the only councillor to vote against plans to fund the reviews and he is concerned that spending this amount of money will increase taxes. He said: "I am worried about the amount of money coming out of the reserves and I am worried that this will bankrupt the council.

"I am also concerned this will set a dangerous precedent for any future environmental issues that arise on the island as it will be expected we spend a lot on research into them.

"This should be the responsibility of Dorset Council, not for a small island. This will force up next year's precept for sure."

But, Paula Klaentschi, spokeswoman for SPWI was thrilled that £40,000 has been allocated on reviewing Powerfuel's application. She said: "I am overjoyed that the council will fund the reviews - it isn't right that this is done by volunteers, it needs to be done by qualified professionals and those cost money.

"I hope that Powerfuel's aim of pollution for profit on Portland is stopped."

The deadline for submitting feedback as part of the public consultation is September 3.

To have your say, visit www.consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/dt5-1pp-powerfuel-portland-limited/