Letter to the editor (Ledbury Reporter) -

The UKIP candidate in the forthcoming Ledbury by-election, Paul Stanford, says he wants to be elected to "fight for the things that matter to local people".

This includes lobbying to reverse Herefordshire Council’s decision to back the planned cross-county energy-from-waste plant that has been about 14 years in the planning, been the subject of public inquiry, and is to be located in Hartlebury, Worcestershire. Herefordshire Council has agreed to contribute £40 million to the project.

The full cost of the project is just short of £1 billion, so our contribution is quite small in the scheme of things.

The issue that he does not address is that we cannot continue to put rubbish in a big hole in the ground.

Generating power, for which Herefordshire Council will generate an income over many decades, can be done effectively and with minimal environmental impact when modern emission capture technology is used.

It is also a renewable form of energy. For a single candidate to come out with a statement like "[I will]…scrap plans for a £40 million incinerator" is ill-informed and misguided.

Edd Hogan

Ledbury