COUNTY residents and environmental groups rejoiced this week as plans for a £147 million giant incinerator plant near Dunbar were thrown out by East Lothian Council's planning committee.

Protesters applauded as the 12 councillors unanimously rejected waste contractor Viridor's bid to build an 'energy from waste (EfW)' processing plant at the company's existing Oxwellmains landfill site capable of handling 300,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Meeting in Haddington on Tuesday, councillors went against the advice of their planning officials, and Sepa (the Scottish Environment Protection Agency), which had submitted that the incinerator fully complied with its criteria for the thermal treatment of waste.

Yet councillors refused to give the project the go-ahead after criticising various aspects of Viridor's proposals, including that the vast majority of waste would be transported to the facility by road, the proximity of potential waste suppliers to East Lothian and the company's failure to identify who would use the 17 megawatts (MW) of heat energy produced at the plant.

Further industrialisation of the rural site, located near to Torness Power Station and Lafarge cement works, was also highlighted as a concern. Steven Don, Viridor's Scottish Regional Manager, presented the company's case to the committee.

He said: "This is a key component of the Scottish and UK government strategy and it is the best environmental option.

"Our facility offers a real boost for the county's economy in the shape of 150 construction jobs, 47 full time, skilled professional posts and £10 million per annum for East Lothian." Mr Don added that Viridor has considered 143 locations for the incinerator across Edinburgh and the Lothians before deciding on Oxwellmains, a site he described as "little over the size of a council football pitch". The company had initially planned to build a 450,000 tonne capacity plant at Oxwellmains, but was forced to downsize its plans last April when Scottish Government policy turned against the use of large-scale EfW facilities.

The revised design proposed an incinerator capable of producing 26MW of electricity; 3MW would be used to power the facility with the rest being fed to the National Grid.

However, it was the output of heat energy that troubled councillors.

The incinerator would have been capable of providing approximately 17MW of heat, yet Viridor acknowledged in its application that "no single existing development in the area that is of a sufficient size to accept all the heat that would be generated from the EfW facility".

Mr Don explained that until planning permission was granted, the company could not confirm who would use the heat energy and Sepa noted that Viridor's plan "appeared to rely on the development of agricultural/horticultural uses not yet in operation" and on land not designated for development.

Another major concern was how far afield the waste processed at the plant would be coming from. Viridor stated that 150,000 tonnes of municipal waste per annum and a further 150,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial waste would be sourced from East Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh City Council areas.

Though Sepa ruled that the incinerator would comply with the 'proximity principle' - advocating that waste should be disposed of (or otherwise managed) close to the point at which it is generated - councillors and protesters were sceptical.

East Lothian Provost, Councillor Sheena Richardson said: "I'm very concerned at Sepa's response to their own criteria.

"Proximity means something close by and I really don't think this waste is going to come from close by.

"East Lothian does not need a facility of this size and I'm disappointed that Sepa isn't supportive of East Lothian's interests as they were consulted from our point of view and not in the national interest." Philip Banks, chairman of the Innerwick-based Incensed Residents Against Toxic Emissions (IRATE) pressure group, also told councillors that granting consent to the incinerator would make East Lothian "the mecca" for waste disposal for the rest of Scotland.

The incinerator proposals were fiercely opposed by local residents and environmental groups - more than 50 written objections were received by local authority. Twenty representations were made supporting the project.

All three Dunbar and East Linton councillors criticised Viridor's plans.

Former environment spokesman Councillor Paul McLennan told fellow members that he feared the county becoming a "dumping ground" for other parts of the UK.

He said: "I'm concerned that we'd be encouraging waste to come in from the north of England and further afield in Scotland.

"And I believe that further industrialisation of the area will be a step too far and have a detrimental impact." Councillor Jacquie Bell said she was "not convinced" that the potential public health issues from the erection of the plant had not been "fully addressed" by Viridor.

Councillor Norman Hampshire said that approving the plans would be a "terrible legacy" for the council to leave to East Lothian residents and branded Viridor's heat plan "a sham".

Planning convener, Councillor Barry Turner, concluded: "The residents (near Oxwellmains) have suffered for a long time and this is something that would prolong that suffering." Following the meeting, Mr Don said: "Despite a recognition of need, SEPA describing the proposal as the 'best practical environmental option' and a strong recommendation for approval from East Lothian Council professional officers, Viridor is disappointed that councillors chose to refuse our application.

"Whilst this decision will inevitably delay our journey to sustainability, we will be reviewing our position in due course." An East Lothian Council spokesman said the local authority was expecting Viridor to appeal against the committee's decision.

"In this case, the likelihood is it will now go to the Scottish ministers and will be the subject of a local inquiry," he said.