PLANS for a controversial new incinerator in Hampshire have been rejected.

Hampshire County Council met to discuss Veolia’s application for an incinerator near Alton, along the A31.

The facility, which would be operational 24-hours-a-day, would deal with 1.5 times more waste than the incinerator in Portsmouth.

Concerns about the visual and environmental impact, as well as whether the facility was truly needed, were raised by residents and campaigners alike.

More than 5,000 people had submitted objections to it. 

Christopher Napier, vice-president of CPRE Hampshire, said: "We consider that this proposal is very much the wrong development in the wrong place.

"The magnitude of change that would arise from the building would undoubtedly be large. Views over the River Wey to the national park would be seriously damaged.

"The proposal cannot comply with the national planning policy framework, nor with the development plan as it would have an unacceptable visual impact.

"The major adverse impact leads inevitably to the conclusion conclusion the proposal must be refused."

Alison Melvin from Binstead Eco Network added: "The county needs more recycling capacity, not more incinerators.

"More of what’s burned now is plastic, so incinerators are becoming more carbon intensive – and burning plastic in a climate emergency is insane.

"Hampshire has no need for this plant."

William Butler, owner of the nearby West End Flower Farm,  said the incinerator would put the future of his business under threat.

He said: "The impact of the incinerator would be devastating, both professionally and for our business.

"It will turn a historic rural landscape into an industrial dumping ground.

"People will stop visiting, jobs will be lost and businesses will go under, including my own.

"It’s a huge monstrosity."

The facility would stretch up to the railway line between Alton and Basingstoke, which connects Hampshire to London Waterloo.

Network Rail, NATS and Hart Borough Council made no objection to the application.

Historic England ‘raised concerns’ and objections were made by CPRE Hampshire, Alton Borough Council, MPs Damian Hinds and Jeremy Hunt and the county council’s own landscaping team, among others.

But Veolia’s representatives insisted the incinerator wasn’t just beneficial to Hampshire, but essential for the future.

Southern UK planning manager, Simon McKee, said: "The site is sized to meet the local need – 365,000 tonnes of waste is currently landfilled or exported out of Hampshire.

"We appreciate there are local concerns that have been raised.

"The plan is safe. It won’t cause traffic congestion and moves residual waste away from landfill. It will save carbon from day one and has a limited visual impact."

Half of all waste would be recovered as heat and electrical energy, according to the plans.

Conservative representative for Bridgemary, Cllr Stephen Philpott, said: "I believe it’s difficult to argue that an enormous building with two 80m chimneys, on the edge of a national park, is in any way enhancing the landscape.

"I also don’t think the building has an acceptable visual impact.

"I have decided that the application isn’t consistent with parts of the national planning policy framework and therefore won’t be supporting the recommendation."

Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Keith House, added: "The need for a new incinerator can be argued both ways.

"But what we’re trying to achieve is a reduction of the need to even think about processing waste.

"We’re predicting there will be a demand for more incineration and it doesn’t feel like the right approach."

At the vote, three councillors voted in favour of the plans, with 12 against.