IT’S rare politicians in Basildon agree on something – but that is exactly what has happened as they unite against plans for a controversial waste plant.

A scheme for an incinerator in Pitsea first caused fury about 15 years ago with the Echo joining in and launching a campaign against the plans.

Now political party leaders have declared they have had enough of the borough being made a dumping ground.

They say they are committed to fight new plans for the £50million incinerator, regardless of how long the fight takes.

Clearaway, a Basildon-based recycling firm, has announced its intention to build the incinerator, off Archers Field Close, next to the Burnt Mills Industrial estate, in Pitsea.

Basildon Council will be discussing the matter at a meeting tomorrow in order to agree an official response to a consultation which has been launched by the waste firm.

Kerry Smith, Independent deputy leader of the Basildon Council said: “If this was north Essex it would not be happening but Essex County Council is happy to let bad stuff happen in our borough.

“We will fight this as far as we can; residents are very concerned about this and say they don’t know what they are going to be breathing in.

“The county council is not a friend of Basildon and we will fight this, no question. We will not take this lightly at all.

“It’s not going to do anything good for our borough.

Mr Smith said tomorrow’s meeting will partly be about getting as strong a case as possible together against the plans.

He said the message is very clear; the council and residents do not want the proposed incinerator anywhere in the borough.

The threat of an incinerator and the issues of processing waste has hung over Basildon for decades, with the Echo running a Don’t Dump on Basildon campaign from 2006 to 2007, which called on Essex County Council to rethink plans to build on Courtauld Road, Pitsea, which would deal with 585,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Despite the opposition from this newspaper, MPs and campaigners, the scheme was approved, but it was never developed.

However, separately, the Tovi Eco Park Facility, was built and remains locked in a battle with Essex County Council over its capacity.

Andrew Baggott, leader of the Basildon Conservative Party said his party is also prepared to fight the plans for as long as it takes.

He said: “We are clear in our message, which is there’s no way this should go ahead.

“We are not a dumping ground and we won’t put up with it as we have for long enough now.

“The Government is already concerned about air quality in this air and I can’t see how this will help at all.”

Tony Ball, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “Whilst this is a private proposal, any concerns the community may have about the burning of waste materials would need to be addressed by the applicant, especially given the site is adjacent to the clean air zone identified by Essex County Council and Basildon Council.”

Paul Whitehair, from Clearaway, said: “Emissions from the facility will be tightly controlled and will comply with strict regulations under an Environmental Permit.

“We are also going through a very robust planning and technical assessment process which will include a detailed air quality assessment.

“The technology will be operated by fully trained and experienced operatives and we will have an agreement with the technology provider where they will be involved in the operation of the facility, working alongside local employees. Safety controls will be in place which are designed to shut down the plant if emissions exceed allowed levels.”

The petition against the plans launched the Basildon Tories can be found at http:// chng.it/dqZf7LdGJk