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East Leeds residents demand say on waste treatment plant
Council chiefs have been accused of carrying out too little public consultation over controversial plans to build a waste treatment plant in east Leeds.
And the message from people living near the proposed sites is: "We want to have our say."
Click here for a full run down of the 20 YEP community sites launched around Leeds to date.
The council is planning to build a multi-million pound facility – either a power-generating incinerator or a mechanical biological treatment plant – to deal with the city's household waste that cannot be recycled.
Four companies have been shortlisted to operate the plant – one is proposing to build it on land near the Yorkshire Water sewage treatment site in Cross Green and the other three would build it on the former wholesale markets site in Cross Green.
Residents near the sites claim the shortlist has been drawn up without them being properly consulted.
Gladys Townend, who lives in Osmondthorpe Lane, said: "We want to know how they got a shortlist of four without consulting anyone in the area.
"There are industrial sites all over Leeds so how come the only sites being considered are on our doorstep?
"Whichever firm is chosen, the plant will be near us. There has not been enough consultation and we want to have our say."
A spokeswoman for Leeds City Council said: "The project to build a treatment facility for non-recycled waste in Leeds has been ongoing for a few years now, and we have continued to keep relevant groups of people informed at key times.
"We met with some residents and a local ward councillor in April this year to explain the latest developments.
"We have also consulted with residents and have used their feedback to base our shortlisting decisions on factors that residents and interested groups told us were most important to them.
"Two years ago we finished a detailed search to find a location for a waste treatment facility which involved assessing over 2,000 sites across the city against planning criteria.
"Four sites were selected, all within the Aire Valley.
"We wrote to all residents and businesses within a mile of one of the four identified sites.
"We will be attending local area committees and various public forums in the near future to explain to residents why an alternative to landfill is required, what is being done to improve recycling, to outline the current proposals for the waste treatment facility and to describe the next stages in the process. "
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Weather for Leeds
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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