A campaign against plans for a controversial waste incinerator is gaining pace, with local councillors slamming it as an "eyesore" which will "desecrate" the coast.
Meanwhile, the applicant behind the incinerator says it will "robustly defend" its case.
Plans for the Portland incinerator were originally refused by Dorset Council in March 2023 over concerns about potential damage to the region’s heritage landscape, as well as for a lack of compliance with local waste plans.
However junior minister Rushanara Ali, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, overturned the council's decision in September this year, following an appeal from the developer Powerfuel Portland and a public inquiry.
Dorset Council said it wouldn't be challenging the decision in the courts as it couldn't justify spending a large sum of taxpayers' money on a case it didn't think it could win.
But campaign group Stop Portland Waste Incinerator, acting through Debbie Tulett, who is represented by law firm Leigh Day, has filed a legal claim challenging the decision to grant planning permission.
READ MORE: Campaigners in legal challenge to Portland incinerator
Powerfuel Portland says it will "robustly" defend the Secretary of State's decision.
Giles Frampton, director of Powerfuel Portland, said: "The planning decision itself, including the identified benefits and limited localised impact of the project, is not being contested in the legal challenge. What is claimed is that the Secretary of State did not act legally in making the decision.
"Dorset Council has stated that it consulted expert legal advice and concluded any challenge on this basis would likely fail in court.
"Despite this, Stop Portland Waste Incinerator group has decided to launch a legal challenge against the Secretary of State's decision, which will be robustly defended."
Laura Baldwin, environmental campaigner and a former Olympic sailor, works with Stop Portland Waste Incinerator to support the legal challenge.
She released a statement on their behalf which read: “Stop Portland Waste Incinerator believe that there is a fundamental legal flaw in the decision to grant planning permission because the Secretary of State did not follow local planning policies, something she was legally required to do.
"We are proceeding on the basis of our own legal advice and have not seen the advice given to the council.”
Plans to take their legal claim to the High Court began earlier this year and the group has been fundraising to cover legal fees.
READ MORE: Campaigners in legal challenge to Portland incinerator
While there is uncertainty surrounding the timescales of the legal challenge the group says it will receive a permission decision on the papers within a couple of months. A final hearing is expected to be within six to nine months if permission is granted.
Weymouth Town Council has also agreed to contribute £2,000 to support Stop Portland Waste Incinerator’s legal challenge.
Councillors will also be writing to the Government to raise their objections. The decisions were taken at the Environment and Services Committee meeting on October 30.
Cllr Joanna Dickenson, who attended the meeting, said: "I voted in favour of it. I’m dead against it. I don’t think it’s a good idea at all for many reasons, I’m obviously hoping common sense will prevail.
“It raises questions how waste will get to Portland, if waste is coming through the roads the traffic on Portland would be terrible.
“It was a unanimous decision for the town council to support it. We are united against it. But whether it will go anywhere I don’t know as it’s already been overturned by national government.
“If we all got together, including Dorset Council, we could come up with a solution on how to fight it."
Cllr David Harris didn't attend the meeting but also maintains a firm stance against the incinerator.
He also described his shock when a BBC investigation revealed that the practice of incinerating much of the UK's household rubbish is just as polluting as burning coal.
He said: “Weymouth Town Council have always been against having a waste incinerator here. The recent investigation which showed that incinerators are not at all green is very serious and opposition against it should be recognised.
"The reasons we initially gave for it not to be built still sand. It's an eyesore, a pollutant of Weymouth and Portland, and something that will desecrate the Jurassic coast."
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