A COMMUNITY group opposed to the creation of a renewable energy plant between York and Harrogate has claimed they were “misled, misrepresented and ignored” by developers.

Members of the Community Liaison Group set up by North Yorkshire County Council and Amey Cespa, developers of the Allerton Park site, have written to the company, councils and their MP and condemned the group’s meetings as “a sham”.

John West, from the group, said: “We were led to believe that by taking part in the CLG we could get changes made to these proposals, but it was all a sham.

“It is clear that neither North Yorkshire County Council nor Amey Cespa had the slightest intention of taking anything we had to say on board. The CLG has been a complete waste of time: it’s just been a cynical exercise in trying to fob off local people.”

Bill Jarvis, director of the project, said: “We completely dispute these allegations, which are not representative of all CLG members. We continue to believe the CLG provides an opportunity for open discussion for those community members who are interested in being informed about and involved in our proposals to solve North Yorkshire’s costly waste problem. It is unfortunate that those opposed to our proposals make totally untrue statements in support of their cause.”