The Viridor waste incinerator at Beddington Lane has broken the terms of its operating licence 60 times. But Sutton’s LibDems refuse to discuss the matter, as BERTIE WOOSTER-PARK reports

Silencing debate: Barry ‘Basher’ Lewis would not allow any discussion on the incinerator

Barry “Basher” Lewis, the leader of Liberal Democrat-run Sutton, this week conspired with the council’s chief executive, Helen Bailey, to shut down all discussion about the toxic polluting waste incinerator at Beddington Lane and its serious breaches of its environmental licence.

And all the while, officials from Viridor, the company with the £1billion public-funded contract to operate the incineration plant, were observing proceedings online.

Monday’s council meeting coincided with the news that there had been three more licence breaches from the Beddington plant during September, meaning that Viridor has exceeded its emissions limits for four consecutive months.

Since the Beddington incinerator began operation in 2019, there have been 60 occasions when Viridor have broken the terms of their licence from the Environment Agency – almost one per month.

But that’s not something the incinerator apologists who control Sutton Council are prepared to discuss, as Lewis and Bailey cynically blocked a motion for debate raised by Labour councillor Dave Tchil.

Lewis’s LibDems were so desperate to prevent Tchil’s motion being discussed that they had to call up reinforcements in the form of Sutton’s recently elected LibDem MPs, Luke Taylor and Bobby Dean. Both are still serving councillors, having not resigned their local positions since the General Election in July.

Parliament was sitting on Monday night, so MPs Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) and Dean (Carshalton and Wallington) might have been expected to be at Westminster. But with three other LibDem councillors absent, the MPs were needed to ensure Lewis’s group’s wafer-thin majority was maintained.

Better things to do: a bored-looking Bobby Dean MP was required at Sutton Civic Centre on Monday night to shore up the not-very-democratic LibDems’ council vote

And their votes were crucial to kick out the incinerator debate; even the civic mayor, Colin Stears, normally expected to remain neutral, cast a vote with his own party.

The Labour motion called for the council to investigate the environmental and health impacts of the Viridor incinerator in Beddington, to develop a strategy for future monitoring and scrutiny of the facility and to work to reduce Sutton’s reliance on burning waste.

All reasonable enough.

But not for Sutton’s anti-democratic LibDems, who in the Viridor incinerator at Beddington have created a toxic legacy that seems certain to be affecting the health and wel-being of residents across that borough, and Croydon, for decades to come.

Sutton LibDems have already spent years denying the damaging impacts of incineration, and have remained ambivalent to dozens of serious breaches of Viridor’s Environment Agency permit.

The LibDems, under their new council leader “Basher” Lewis, have become increasingly sensitive to any criticism of their dodgy role in imposing the polluting plant on this corner of south London. To the point where they will not even allow the matter to be discussed at council meetings.

Tchil’s motion – which had support from Sutton’s Tories and independent councillors – came forward just a week after a BBC campaign described incineration as the “dirtiest” form of energy generation in the country. Tchil proposed extending air quality monitoring, an affordable solution as sensors measuring harmful PM2.5 particles can now be bought for £90.

Viridor’s Beddington incinerator pumps out well over 350,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. The output is heavily filtered to remove toxins, but breaches of its permit culminated in an incident in October 2023 when a power outage meant unfiltered smoke and toxins rained directly down on Beddington, including a primary school less than half a mile.

It was Tchil himself and other local residents who alerted the council and  Environment Agency to the poisonous stench, rather than operators Viridor, as the councillor explained when he was, briefly, given a chance to speak.

With Mayor Stears in the chair, but being carefully steered by CEO Bailey and council lawyer, monitoring officer Tim Martin, Monday’s council meeting descended into chaos and bitterness.

There were three motions presented, the first two covering local council funding and the proposed new hospital in Sutton. In Sutton, council meetings are now allowed to last longer than three hours 15 minutes, and by the time that Tchil was called, the clock was ticking towards 10pm.

Tchil asked that the meeting be extended to allow the incinerator motion to be discussed. Stears, Bailey and Martin turned off their microphones and went into a little private session.

“We are now going to take the procedural motion from Councillor Tchil to extend the debate,” announced Mayor Stears. The motion was proposed and seconded by Labour.

Then “Basher” Lewis stepped in.

“We’re happy to support the extension,” Lewis said, “but ask the proposer of the motion to propose, and the seconder to second, and then we go straight to the vote.” So no discussion.

No debate: Tim Martin (left) the council’s monitoring officer, CEO Helen Bailey and stooge Mayor Colin Stears try to work out how they can avoid discussion of the toxic incinerator

“I don’t accept that, if I have a choice, thank you,” Tchil responded, clearly and unambiguously.

Bailey intervened to announce that votes would be taken on Tchil’s already-proposed extension, which was passed. The die was cast.

There was clear confusion. Stooge Mayor Stears invited Tchil to deliver his motion, which he did, perhaps thinking he was kicking off a full, robust debate. In fact, he had been stitched up.

“The incinerator has been an issue in our community for many, many years,” Tchil said.

“I’m tired of being ignored and talked down to by members of the administration. The council has a strange relationship with incineration. It’s a blend of complacency and absurdity and a little subservience to the industry.”

Tchil then described the Liberal Democrat administration’s dismissive attitude to the incinerator. “It’s 100% steam said one councillor. Very recently, another senior councillor said air pollution in Hackbridge and Beddington is no worse than any other part of the borough.”

Tired of being ignored: Labour councillor Dave Tchil was misled over Monday’s debate. And ignored

Sheldon Vestey, Sutton’s other Labour councillor and the motion’s seconder, then spoke to highlight local health issues associated with serious emissions breaches at the incinerator.

And that was it.

Despite Tchil stating clearly that he didn’t accept an extension if it were to be followed by a closure motion – if he had a choice – he was given no choice. “Basher” Lewis then took to his feet and immediately proposed that the debate be closed. He had quite a number of eager LibDem councillors volunteering to second his motion.

Opposition councillors were not happy. “It is in the constitution”, said Stooge Stears, somewhat unconvincingly.

His microphone not quite muted, Stears could be heard mumbling to Bailey, less-than-sotto voce, “I’m going to have to vote on this one.” It is council convention that the civic mayor abstains on all votes.

Steers voted, and the end result was 26 to 25 to close down the debate.

At this point, Tom Drummond, the leader of the council’s Conservative group, leapt up to make his dissatisfaction clear.

“Mr Mayor? Could I have it minuted that the Conservative group voted against that motion as we don’t want to be party to shutting down debate in this chamber,” he said disdainfully.

The recorded vote on the incinerator motion then followed. Another case of 26 to 25, with the Mayor Stears’s vote included.

The motion was lost with not a single LibDem councillor – including the two MPs – having to explain why they were against it. And by allowing the motion to be voted on, a similar motion cannot be brought to council for at least six months. Lewis and Bailey had effectively used the council constitution to shut down debate on the Viridor incinerator until next year.

Nick Mattey, the long-time campaigner against the incinerator and independent councillor, finally got a chance to speak. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought this was a place where debates took place. We’re not in some sort of Communist Party… we’ve not had a debate.”

Mayor Stears told Mattey to sit down. “But you’ve shut the debate down,” Mattey protested.

“I haven’t shut the debate down,” said Mayor Stears, shutting down the debate. “The constitution allows it.”

Lewis then proposed a motion to close the rest of the meeting which effectively took outstanding agenda items as accepted.

Anti-democratic Liberal Democrats: councillors raise their hands to block the incinerator debate

“If any leaders of opposition groups wish to express dissent on any item not yet dealt with, could anybody indicate,” asked monitoring officer Martin. In less than a second, Martin added: “No. That concludes the meeting.” Stears and Bailey had already stood up, ready to leave.

Labour’s councillors were waving furiously. “We’re dissenting on point seven!” said Vestey. He was ignored. The meeting was over.

There was anger in the chamber. “It’s bent,” could be heard from one councillor. “What a fucking joke,” said another.

“If a person was abused as much as the constitution has been tonight, they’d be in hospital on life support,” said one opposition councillor.

As Mayor Stears left the chamber, Mattey charged over the floor to remonstrate with Lewis. Inside Sutton can report that no one called for “Seconds out! Round two!” and no bell was sounded nor were any punches thrown.

But the phrase “spineless coward” may have been overheard.

Read more: Health agencies ignored public’s concerns on incinerator
Read more: Viridor’s charge sheet: incinerator operator’s eco-vandalism
Read more: Viridor incinerator fined for multiple pollution permit breaches

• There’s a running total of the breaches by Viridor’s Beddington incinerator at http://www.merton.tv/incinerator-breaches/
• Thanks to Mark Gale for the vido grabs used with this report

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