Efforts to stop a controversial medical waste incinerator being built in Lancashire were dealt a fresh blow as the government declined to hold a public inquiry.
The incinerator is to be built at Simonswood Industrial Park on Stopgate Lane at Bickerstaffe near Ormskirk. Lancashire County Council approved the application in December despite 1,400 objections, including from MPs and local councils, and the campaigning work of a 3,500 strong opposition group.
The latest decision has sparked dismay and frustration from those against the incinerator. County Councillor Julie Gibson, who represents Skelmersdale West, said: "Along with residents, campaigners and fellow local politicians I raised serious concerns about this incinerator when it was coming before the planning committee. Both Knowsley Council and West Lancashire Borough Council, led by the then leader Ian Moran, raised objections to the siting of the incincerator.