In an unprecedented move, Colchester Councillors Henry Spyvee (Liberal Democrat, Castle Ward) and Tina Dopson (Labour, St Andrew's Ward) held a joint press conference to expose Conservative plans to secretly commit Colchester to incinerating waste. Behind the scenes actions by the Conservative administration will commit Colchester to participation in the Essex Waste Plan which emphasises the use of huge facilities like the plant proposed for Stanway. The councillors were united in their “disappointment in the Tories choice of incineration over reuse, recycling and localised sustainable extraction of valuable materials.” Colchester's Planning Committee unanimously rejected the proposal for the Stanway site when they were consulted last month.

Councillor Spyvee said: "What the Tories like to refer to as an 'energy plant' is what most people would call an incinerator. It would burn waste and produce toxic residue as well as electricity, yet local Tories continue to plead their 'principled opposition to the incineration of household waste'. Verbal tricks like this are what cause people to be cynical about politicians.'

Councillor Dopson added: "The Conservative Administration have chosen to sign up to the Memorandum of Understanding that green  lights this plan before the end of the month, without affording Colchester councillors a democratic discussion in an open forum. If the Memorandum is signed, Colchester will be committed to the controversial Waste Plan without any public debate. Ultimately, we will be locked into this scheme for a minimum of 25 years, committing Council Tax payers in Colchester and the rest of Essex to paying for it until the 2030s.

"Both Councillors have pledged that they and their groups will continue to oppose this scheme and to speak out against it wherever they can. They said: "We appeal to the people of the Borough who share our environmental and financial concerns to contact their Councillors and make their opposition to this scheme known.  The PFI bid has to demonstrate ‘broad public support’; community leaders and residents alike need to protest in the strongest possible terms to show the Conservatives that that support cannot be taken for granted.”