Waste Disposal - Statement by the Liberal Democrats

2.01.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 7th Sep 2009

Disposing of the County's waste is the biggest single issue facing us for many years and one in which the public are rightly very interested. Liberal Democrats find it extraordinary, therefore, that the publicity around the special Cabinet meeting to decide on the preferred bidder for waste disposal for, potentially, the next 25 years has been so poor. The special meeting was announced on a Bank Holiday Monday and still was not shown in the meetings calendar on the website even this morning (Monday). The papers for the meeting were only available on the website from Thursday 3rd September and only if people know their way around the County's website or look hard for them.

Cllr Anne Purse, Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet member for Growth & Infrastructure, said, "I am very disappointed that the County Council did not go out of its way to publicise this extra meeting much better, especially given the likely level of public interest in this matter. The opposition were not even told directly, but left to find out about this meeting, just like the public. One is led to wonder if the lack of publicity was deliberate - to try to cut down protests and public demonstrations.

"I am also surprised that the Cabinet meeting is being held before the Planning & Regulation Committee has met, thus potentially putting political pressure on the Committee to agree planning permission for the preferred bidder."

Liberal Democrats have long held the position that the waste disposal option chosen by the County Council should be the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable option available. When the tendering process threw up only energy-from-waste options, they tried to get the Council to consider a specific "break clause" in the contract so that new technologies could be added in the future as they became available and viable.