The Westbury Gasification Action Group (WGAG) is urging residents to sign a national petition calling for a ban on new waste incinerators, as the long-running battle against the proposed Westbury plant continues.
The petition, available on the UK Parliament’s website and has over 15,000 signatures, calls on the government to “ban new waste incinerators and revoke permits where building has not begun.”
WGAG argues that this directly applies to the controversial Northacre facility planned for Westbury, which they say has never truly broken ground despite being technically listed as ‘started’.
A WGAG spokesperson said, “It is vitally important that people sign all petitions relevant to sensible waste management, especially given the known overcapacity of incineration in the UK and the significant health concerns associated with these plants.”
Campaigners claim that only minimal groundwork has taken place at the Westbury site – just enough to satisfy technical planning requirements – and have long maintained that the project has not genuinely commenced.
They also continue to challenge the legal and procedural basis on which the project received final approval. WGAG highlights that Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee had, by a vote of 8 to 1, already determined the project to be “unsustainable development” ahead of the Planning Inspectorate’s involvement. This, they argue, should have invalidated the national body’s decision to green-light the incinerator.
“We all know that Wiltshire Council made its decision before the inspectorate hearing at The Laverton,” the spokesperson said. “That decision was clear: this project would harm the environment and negatively impact future generations.”
WGAG say they are not just fighting for Westbury but standing in solidarity with similar grassroots campaigns across the UK. By supporting organisations like UKWIN (UK Without Incineration Network), they hope to highlight Westbury’s experience and warn other communities of what they describe as procedural manipulation in the planning system.
“By signing this petition and sharing our experience, we’re standing up for other communities and for a more honest, sustainable approach to waste management. We must continue to fight back.”
The petition can be found at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/710486
