HOUSE OF LORDS PETITION

Evening Telegraph Thursday 3rd August

GROUP TO TAKE INCINERATOR FIGHT TO "BITTER END"
Marc Meneaud reports:

Campaigners who fear Rugby will become a dumping ground if the town's cement factory is given the go-ahead to incinerate household waste have taken their fight to the House of Lords.

Pressure group Rugby in Plume has already spent £50,000 in taking the Environment agency to court, claiming it granted a license to burn waste at Rugby's Cemex factory without giving residents their say. Their case has already been reviewed by a judge who threw it out and a subsequent appeal was again dismissed. Now the campaigners' solicitors have petitioned the House of Lords to look again at the case.

Lilian Pallikaropoulos of Rugby in Plume said "We will carry this on until the bitter end, otherwise Rugby is going to become a dumping ground." Mrs Pallikaropoulos claims factory bosses will be able to burn whatever they like under the terms of the (IPPC operating) license - including potentially harmful substances. She said tyre burning trials had already taken place and more tests into burning waste were expected when the results of the tyre-burning trials were released.

The campaigners claim that, should an appeal to the House of Lords fail, they will take their case to the European Court of Justice to stop the factory burning tyres and waste because the issue is so important to residents.

Mrs Pallikaropoulos said "There are very real dangers for Rugby people. There is NO question that the plant should NOT be here. There is NO question that things will only get worse for us, air quality-wise and health wise. To try to save Rugby people from this fate I have Petitioned the House of Lords to look again at our case. It will cost me thousands of pounds, but I have to do it. I have had to spend all these years and get no proper judgement."

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said a huge amount of public money had already been spent on taking the matter to court. But she added "We will of course defend our position in the House of |Lords, should we be called upon to do so."

Cllr Craig Humphrey leader of rugby Borough Council said the Council had worked closely with factory bosses at the Rugby plant to make it AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE! Cemex did not want to comment when contacted by the Evening telegraph.

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