FAQs

Should you have any questions about the North London Waste Plan or the North London Joint Waste Strategy that are not answered below please send us an Email to residentsagainstpollution@googlemail.com with the subject "FAQ" and we’ll do our best to answer them for you.

What is the North London Waste Plan?
Seven London boroughs are co-operating to look at potential new sites for dealing with all waste – household, commercial, toxic waste – from North London. Part of the plan is to decide how much of North London’s waste should be dealt with in North London. The plan has no concrete proposals at the moment for what kind of facility would be on each site. There is no definite plan at the moment to increase incineration, but it is government policy to do so. There are currently 68 waste sites in North London. The Lea Valley already bears the brunt of these sites.

Which new sites are proposed?
Six new ‘industrial’ sites are proposed, which are earmarked as ‘strategic employment areas’. Four are in the Lea Valley. The planners are keen to point out that these are not definite and that other sites could be possible, but have not yet named them.

Barnet Northern Telecom Industrial Business Park
Enfield Great Cambridge Road Industrial Business Park

The four “Preferred Industrial Locations” in the Lea Valley:
Brimsdown - Enfield
Central Leaside Business Area – Enfield, but on the border with Waltham Forest
Blackhorse Lane – Waltham Forest
Lea Bridge Gateway – Waltham Forest

Which boroughs are involved?
Waltham Forest, Hackney, Islington, Camden, Barnet, Enfield, Haringey. Two councillors from each borough take part in formulating the North London Waste Plan – we have been told that Waltham Forest is represented by Councillors Terry Wheeler Clyde Loakes (who has been appointed chair of the NLWA) and Bob Belam.

What is the consultation process?
A two-year consultation started at the beginning of 2008 and is due to reach a conclusion and start work in 2010. The first phase of the consultation was a workshop in each borough in January/February this year. There was no serious attempt to get people to these workshops – no leaflets through doors, for example. They were advertised in the local papers and only about 20 people came to each one. There have also been stalls in shopping centres, but again not advertised.
The next phase won’t be till the start of 2009, which will be the ‘preferred options’ stage. At this stage it is said nothing is ruled in or ruled out but by sometime in 2009 there will be definite proposals.

What is the North London Joint Waste Strategy?
There is a separate strategy which was started in 2004 and was ‘updated’ in July 2008. It deals with household & business waste only, but involves the same seven boroughs. The councils in each borough discussed options which seem to include an expansion of the Edmonton incinerator, although it is proving difficult to find out exactly what has been agreed. We are concerned that we have been involved in the consultation on the Plan but not the Strategy, when clearly the two overlap.

Isn’t too early to campaign now, when there’s nothing definite to protest about?
While there are no definite plans we need to be clear – not Blackhorse Lane, stop dumping on the Lea Valley area, and we don’t want more incineration. If we wait till there are definite proposals, it will be harder to shift them.