HAMPSHIRE County Council (HCC) has issued a fourth notification asking Veolia for further clarification of its planning application for an incinerator in the rural Wey Valley.

The No Wey Incinerator action group, fresh from having its campaign again endorsed by local celebrity Alan Titchmarsh in the national press this week, has said it has been “bombarded with questions” by objectors following news of the latest ‘Regulation 25’ notice.

And it says supporters are keen to know how Veolia has been able to respond to the HCC request immediately with 60 highly-detailed, technical pages, when the notification only appeared on the planning site on June 2.

Mark Weldon, spokesman for the action group, said: “Yet again, this is evidence of an uneven playing field. The applicant has been given an advantage and must have known the contents of this request significantly in advance.

“In contrast, we shall have to comply with the very ‘sharp’ public consultation deadline of July 5 unless HCC grants an extension.

“We are already evaluating this additional information with our consultants. In our opinion it is limited and technical, so we will inform those who have contributed to the 5,000-plus objections submitted to HCC if further objections are appropriate.

“At the same time, the Environment Agency is consulting on Veolia’s application for an environmental permit for the proposed incinerator.

“The documents related to this are also highly technical and are being studied by our consultants.

“This is yet more expense for the campaign, but again we will share our thoughts with our supporters in case they also wish to comment.

“Our supporters are kept informed of the latest developments through our vast mailing list, our website, www.noweyincinertor.com and also follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter).”

In an interview shared widely in the national media this week, TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh, a resident of Holybourne, said he has been left “saddened” by the “inappropriate and irresponsible” proposal to build a “towering” incinerator in the heart of Jane Austen county – with two chimneys nearly as tall as Big Ben.

He is one of 5,000 people to object to Veolia’s planned energy recovery facility to date.