Villagers opposed to a £300million biomass power station face an uphill battle now council planning officers say the plant should be approved.
South Holland and The Deepings MP John Hayes – until recently a Government Energy Minister – is on the side of hundreds of villagers who are fighting plans by EnergyPark Sutton Bridge to build a massive power plant at Wingland.
The planning application is due to be decided on Wednesday night and it’s likely that scores of protestors will fill the council chamber’s public gallery and an overflow room where there will be a live video link for the debate.
Tomorrow Mr Hayes will be at the council offices when protest group BATI (Bridge Against The Incinerator) presents a petition containing around 1,000 signatures.
In a letter to councillors, Mr Hayes says he is concerned there is “no quantifiable local support for these plans” and refers to a parish poll in which 94 per cent of those participating (470 people) voted against the power station.
Mr Hayes says: “I would be very concerned if your authority ignored the direction of Government policy by taking insufficient account of local opinion.”