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Incinerator campaign seeks justice by going to Court of Appeal

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AND THE FIGHT GOES ON: The legal battle against the Viridor-operated waste incinerator to be built at Beddington took another step this week when the Stop the Incinerator Campaign lodged permission to appeal.

The legal campaign is being conducted with new solicitors who specialise in environment law, but the need to raise cash to feed the court system’s voracious appetite for money continues.

The Stop the Incinerator Campaign had their arguments rejected at the Judicial Review stage earlier this month. Now the grounds for appealing lie in the judge’s approach to the waste policies governing the use of the Beddington site and the assessment of whether very special circumstances exist to justify the harm caused by the proposed development. The Court of Appeal will decide whether to grant permission to appeal, a process which will most likely take several weeks.

“I met with residents, conservationists and the Beddington Farmlands Bird Group on Tuesday,” said Shasha Khan, the Green Party activist who has been a leading figure in the legal battle.

“Those present encouraged me to fight on and apply directly to the Court of Appeal. It was something I was actually quite keen to do.”

Khan and the campaigners have taken the conduct of their case to Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law, as the previous legal firm handling the case because of tight deadlines for submissions. “Naturally, to continue, funds are needed to keep the fight going, and I hope I can count on supporters to donate to the campaign once again,” Khan said.

Sue Willman, the solicitor who had previously represented Khan and the campaign, said that, “This case proves that there is no level playing field for access to justice in environmental cases.” At the Judicial Review, the campaigners were taking on the expensively hired QCs paid by Viridor and, using Council Tax-payers’ money, Sutton Council, the local planning authority.

“It has been a difficult journey to get to this stage but the issues at stake warrant the continued efforts,” Adrienne Copithorne, a partner at Richard Buxton, said. “We admire Mr Khan’s tenacity and that of his supporters.”

Meanwhile, the Labour group which controls Croydon Council and which campaigned for five years to oppose the incinerator, remains silent on the issue and has taken no action to halt the development.

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