I AM at a loss to understand why it has taken years to arrive at the decision whether to allow the construction of a vast waste incinerator to be built adjacent to the UNESCO protected Jurassic Coast.
Irrespective of the fact that eighty round trips of lorries loaded with waste will thunder through the historic Conservation area of Castletown daily, incinerator sites are malodourous, particularly during summer, and noisy.
Portland Port itself is steeped in history, but it difficult to see how the powers that be respect that fact.
It is an insult to the memories of the thousands who died on the Normandy Beaches that one of the embarkation points for D-Day will be marked by a giant refuse disposal installation.
It is inconceivable the tawdry plastic cladding on the building that is claimed to emulate the cliff behind the structure will do anything to mitigate the adverse impact on the landscape.
Liverpool has already lost its UNESCO designation as a World Heritage site due to over-development.
In the knowledge that there is already full incinerator capacity in the UK, for Dorset Council to approve the proposal will open the floodgates.
Already there is a proposal going through for a major development that will dominate the, at present, largely unspoilt Newton’s Cove. Weymouth and Portland are increasingly popular as tourist destinations and Dorset is well positioned to take a leading part in building the ‘’Green Economy’’ - that is essential if we are to meet our commitment as a county to achieving carbon net-zero.
The Jurassic Coast is of world importance, so the decision is far more than just a local planning issue.
Potentially jeopardising its UNESCO status by building an incinerator that will dominate the entrance to Portland risks ‘’killing the goose that lays the golden egg’’.
Sylvia Barker
Portland
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