A Camden protester has been told she is out of time as she attempts to take legal action to halt the development of the Edmonton Incinerator.
The project has come under repeated scrutiny from critics including residents and local MPS, who are concerned about the potential environmental and health impacts of the incinerator.
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA), the body managing the development, is made up of representatives of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest councils.
It says it will deliver jobs, provide enough energy for around 127,000 homes, and will result in limited environmental damage.
Dorothea Hackman, 69, chair of the Camden Civic Society, submitted a pre-application letter to the NLWA two weeks ago, requesting a judicial review of the decision to approve the project.
On Friday (February 11), Dorothea’s solicitors received a response saying that she had run out of time to request the review.
On the reply, Dorothea said she does not believe the NLWA has responded to her argument that facts were not made plain to the board, enabling an informed decision to be taken.
She said: “For instance, we need an EIA (equalities impact assessment) on the health impact on a deprived community, and due diligence on the new incinerator being up to 35% over requirement even for the seven boroughs, with no capacity for carbon capture and storage meaning it will become a stranded asset, in a country with overprovision of incineration.
“Instead, the NLWA is trying to wriggle out of this responsibility through a legal loophole.”
A spokesperson for the NLWA said: “After careful consideration to ensure that north London has the best environmental solution to deal with the waste of two million people, we decided to award the contract to build a replacement for a 50-year-old facility.
“This is a world-class infrastructure project that presents the best environmental, technical and economic solution to the treatment of waste in north London.
The spokesperson added: “We have rebutted all the challenges made by the claimant, allegations which we believe are based on a misunderstanding of information freely available in the public domain as well as climate science.
“The decision to award the contract was taken on 16 December 2021. The time limit to challenge a procurement decision made by a public body is 30 days, which would mean any challenge was out of time.”
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