A NEW bid is being made to stop a controversial waste incinerator being built in Keighley.

A permit granted for the scheme should be revoked, it's claimed.

The Environment Agency awarded the permit in late 2020, despite huge opposition.

Calls for the decision to be reversed come after the Government announced a temporary ban on permits being issued for new incinerators in England.

John Grogan, Labour's Keighley parliamentary candidate and a volunteer advisor to the UK Without Incineration Network, says: "Although this ban on permits for new incinerators is a temporary one, it's widely expected to be extended. A consultation on a long-term ban is likely to follow.

"The truth is, this should have happened a long time ago. There is an excess of incinerator capacity in England, with waste being diverted that could be recycled. In Wales, where a moratorium was imposed in 2021, recycling rates are 66 per cent compared with just 42 per cent in England.

"In proceeding, it is important that the Government does not forget communities like Keighley which have had the threat of an incinerator hanging over them for many years.

"The Government has the power to instruct the Environment Agency to revoke existing permits for incinerators which have not yet been built, and it should use that power without delay. Only then will we be sure that the long battle against the Keighley incinerator has finally been won."

The Environment Agency confirms it has received a ministerial directive to temporarily pause the determination of permits for new waste incineration facilities.

But a spokesperson adds: "An environmental permit was issued for the Aire Valley energy-from-waste plant following a rigorous assessment of the company’s application and all responses to public consultations to ensure it would not pose a risk to the local community or the environment.

"The permit sets out legally-binding conditions that the operator must follow in order to protect air quality, and to ensure the safe storage, management and disposal of waste."

Campaigners claim the proposed Keighley incinerator – earmarked for the former gas works site at Marley ­– would pose a risk to people's health and the environment, allegations which are refuted by applicant Endless Energy.

The scheme was given planning permission in 2017.

Keighley's Conservative MP, Robbie Moore, says: "Residents will know that ever since I was elected locally, I have spoken out as a constituency MP against Labour-run Bradford Council’s decision to approve the incinerator at Marley.

"As I stated in my ten-page objection letter to the Environment Agency decision in 2020, 'I have severe concerns about the environmental permit being issued', and I fought incredibly hard against the decision. This letter and indeed all of my previous comments and campaigning against the incinerator can be viewed in more detail online."