Updated: PLANS to build a waste recovery plant in North Yorkshire have come under fire from a parish councillor, who has labelled them “outdated and inadequate”.

City of York Council, working with North Yorkshire County Council, have chosen the Allerton quarry and landfill site, next to the A1(M), as the potential location for the multi-million pound plant and incinerator.

Antony Long, chairman of Marton cum Grafton Parish Council, urged the city and county councils to reconsider the project, which would manage waste for the next 25 years.

“Councillors are being asked to decide on the basis of outdated and inadequate information,” said Coun Long.

“This risks York and North Yorkshire being stuck in the past and local taxpayers paying for it over the next quarter of a century,” he said.

“There are better and cheaper ways to manage York and North Yorkshire’s household waste than simply burning it, but the problem is that alternatives to the current plans have not been properly investigated.”

The plant would recycle up to 90 per cent of York and North Yorkshire’s rubbish while creating renewable energy.

It could mean potential savings to council waste bills of up to £320 million over the next 25 years.

Coun Long also highlighted that households across North Yorkshire and York produced about 410,000 tonnes of waste each year, but approximately 44 per cent was recycled, leaving 230,000 tonnes to manage.

The proposed park would handle 320,000 tonnes of waste each year, more than would be produced by taxpayers.

“There will be a ‘waste gap’ of 100,000 tonnes when it opens. This gap will be filled by commercial waste,” said Coun Long.

“Why should North Yorkshire householders pay for managing commercial waste?”

Bill Woolley, director of city strategy for City of York Council, said the project offered value for money and environmental sustainability.