ANTI-INCINERATOR campaigners have welcomed news that the secretary of state will delay making a decision on the £500 million Javelin Park project until on or before November 30.

Eric Pickles, who heads up the department for communities and local government, announced that he would vary the timetable for ruling on the controversial application because he needed to take into account new evidence sent to him by campaign group GlosVAIN.

Mr Pickles had originally been due to decide the fate of the scheme last Wednesday, September 17. But he has now extended that deadline after GlosVAIN wrote to him to highlight the fact that Gloucestershire County Council had awarded planning permission for a new 30,000 tonnes per annum anaerobic digestion waste-processing plant at Wingmoor Farm in Bishop's Cleeve.

In their correspondence, the campaign group argued that the facility further undermined the need for the waste burner at Javelin Park.

Spokesman for the group, Ian Richens said: “GlosVAIN is pleased that the secretary of state has deemed our further evidence important enough to cause him to delay his decision.

“It is convincing new evidence that this project is not viable, adding to the many existing reasons why he should reject the appeal.

“In particular, the democratic decision of the county planning committee and the overwhelming opposition of the statutory consultees, other local councils and the people of Gloucestershire.

“Newer cheaper technology is coming online, there is firm proof of overcapacity of waste facilities in the UK and there are new policies to ensure higher recycling and significantly less residual waste in future.”

A GCC spokesman said: “While disappointed with this short delay Gloucestershire County Council will continue to wait for the secretary of state to weigh up the arguments around the building of an energy from waste plant at Javelin Park by November 30, 2014.

“If approved, the facility will mark an important change in the way that Gloucestershire deals with the household waste of its 600,000 residents, diverting over 92 per cent of our waste from landfill.

They added: “As planned, we will also be stopping even more waste ending up in the ground by using an anaerobic digestion facility to treat food waste, thanks to close working with district councils.”