This Soapbox has been posted on the West London Mums website LINK
Contributed by: Virginia Rowe
Be afraid! Be very afraid! A new dangerous neighbour has set its sights on West London.
Yes mummies, daddies and kiddies, disturbing plans are afoot to build
a giant waste incinerator at Willesden Junction, with devastating
effects for family-friendly neighbourhoods for miles around. So what
would we be looking forward to if Ealing planning department give this
the green light? (And folks, they really are leaning towards giving this
the green light…)
Four 25 metre chimneys chugging out burnt toxic fumes 24/7 + in
excess of 60 heavy duty trucks rumbling in and out of the area every day
and night, polluting the lives of not only the poor residents that live
on the doorstep of the proposed site, but also the whole area around
Kensal Rise, Queens Park, North Kensington, Willesden Green, Harlesden,
Ealing, Acton….. all family-friendly neighbourhoods.
Incinerator chimneys emit dioxins and heavy metals, associated with
cancer, hormonal issues, reduced immune system capacity, effects on
foetal development, lung and kidney disease and nervous system problems.
These emissions travel for miles!
Despite mass public appeal, this planning application, submitted by a
property company located in an offshore tax-haven, is actually being
favoured by Ealing Council who will be making their decision on whether
to go ahead with it on 19th December.
Few local residents have been informed or consulted on this toxic
plan and the wording in the proposal is designed to deliberately mislead
those who read it, using smoke and mirrors and a whole array of PR new
speak. At no point do they use the word ‘incinerator’ even though the
‘pyrolysis’ part of the plant, which will be burning gases, is actually
deemed an incinerator by the European Union Waste Directive.
This would ruin our neighbourhoods and put our collective health at
risk. There is no place for incinerators in highly populated residential
areas. It is inhumane. And taking into account the overwhelming public
response against them – undemocratic.
Say NO to our West London neighbourhood being turned into a toxic
waste dump by a tax-haven based company that cares nothing for our area.
Contact your local MP, councillors and most importantly vote NO to the NW10 incinerator here:
Virginia
is a creative director living and working in Kensal Rise. Follow her
campaign against the proposed west London waste incinerator on twitter @NOincineratorNo
