CONTENTIOUS plans to build a waste incinerator close to Longparish has been hit with fresh criticism from government planning chiefs.

US company, Wheelabrator, has developed a proposal to build a waste to energy incinerator on the Enviropark owned by Raymond Brown near the A303.

Now the Planning Inspectorate has released its opinion on the company’s scoping report which states the potential impacts of the development.

The opinion, which was published last week, has called for further assessments to be made to provide more information on the possible effects of the development.

Wheelabrator has been told it must not overlook the potential threat to tourism as the initial report argued any threat to tourism should be ignored because the views of the plant are “unlikely to affect tourism revenues”.

The Planning Inspectorate disagreed, and said the company “should assess impacts to nearby tourism receptors particularly impacts during construction which could be disruptive eg impacts to transport routes, tranquillity and visual amenity.”

The point was also noted by Test Valley Borough Council: “The A303 is the main tourist artery from London and the south east heading west into the Test Valley. The siting of a prominent industrial structure close to, and within clear view of that road, would be likely to have an impact on the perception of the Test Valley.”

And Longparish and Barton Stacey parish councils also point to the popularity of the area with cyclists, horse riders and ramblers.

The inspectorate also called for more detail of the effect on wildlife, and if the development is “likely to result in significant effects” to any species.

Wheelabrator must also provide more details of how it would deal with a disaster, as “insufficient information” was given on “any measures that will be employed to prevent and control significant effects”.

Other requests for further information include the effects on groundwater, potential smells from rotting food, the emissions from the chimneys, and the impact of night time lighting.

The Planning Inspectorate’s report has been welcomed by campaign group, Keep Test Valley Beautiful, which is against the proposed incinerator.

Group spokesperson Andy Jolliffe said: “The brisk response by the Planning Inspectorate signals to Wheelabrator that they won’t be able to dodge the difficult questions as they have attempted, and the company’s answers will help to expose this scheme for what it is — an outrageous attempt to build this incinerator in what is quite obviously the wrong place.”

The report comes as a Westminster held a discussion on the ‘Regulation of the Incineration of Waste’ on Tuesday calling for a moratorium on incinerators.

A Wheelabrator spokesperson said: “Scoping is an early and interactive part of the pre-application process so that we can define the environmental assessments for our proposals.

“This engagement with the Planning Inspectorate and important stakeholders is vital in helping us to develop a robust application.

“We will consider all of the recommendations and continue to develop our proposals further before holding another consultation in the autumn.”