AN MP has thrown her backing behind the campaign against the Rivenhall Incinerator.

Witham MP Priti Patel reiterated her backing for the No to Essex Incinerator campaign, calling the site “unsuitable”.

The Environment Agency launched a public consultation into the plans last month before it makes its decision on whether or not to issue the developer with a permit for the proposed site.

A draft decision published by the agency said it is minded to approve the application after landowner Gent Fairhead submitted a fresh application and screening and scoping request to Essex County Council.

The new application implemented a proposed 20-metre increase in the height of the chimney stack.

Ms Patel said: “I am supporting residents in opposing this latest planning application for the Rivenhall Incinerator.

“The incinerator plans continue to change and this shows how unsuitable this site is for waste incineration.

“The impact on the local community will be severe and this development is wrong.”

The incinerator proposals were initially granted planning permission by the Labour Government in 2010 but Gent Fairhead has significantly changed the plans since.

Campaigners claim that the incinerator will produce the equivalent of 90,000 extra cars worth of emissions in Braintree, doing 20,000 miles a year.

Nick Unsworth, head of the No to Essex Incinerator campaign group, said: “Priti has been involved with the campaign for a long time now.

“She has been supporting us in Government by lobbying Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ensure that the permit application is inspected properly.

“We think there is a lot of planning creep going on with the application and we want Priti to raise that with cabinet members.

“There are more and more people becoming more and more concerned about this.