Inside Croydon

Environmental polluters Viridor continue to lie about the extent of the major blaze at their Beddington Lane waste plant in July.

Viridor still claim that the blaze at their Beddington plant in July was ‘a small fire’

In an official report submitted ahead of a meeting of the South London Waste Partnership to be held at Croydon Town Hall tomorrow night, Viridor maintains the fantasy that the incident – which needed four fire engines and 25 firefighters to be on site for nine hours – was a “small fire”.

The London Fire Brigade described it as “a major incident”, and their investigation into its causes continues.

The Viridor incinerator at Beddington Lane was built at a cost of £210million on behalf of the SLWP – a grouping of Kingston, Merton, Sutton and Croydon. It was supposed to be fully commissioned and operational by August 2018 to burn the waste from the four London boroughs under a £1billion 25-year contract.

The current chair of the SLWP is Stuart Collins, the deputy leader of Croydon Council, who had the item about the fire at the incinerator added to tomorrow night’s meeting agenda. Councillors for the wards in Croydon and Sutton worst affected by the blaze – Waddon and Beddington North – are expected to attend the meeting tomorrow night to ask questions of Viridor directly. Continue reading →