Dear Sir,
As a local resident, I read with interest the article on the 15th August describing the recent appearance on Aycliffe Radio of Fornax CEO Ian Jones.
As the CEO of Fornax, he has a responsibility to promote the intended activation of the newly constructed hazardous waste incinerator on the local business park and defuse – if possible – the completely justifiable outcry from the local community.
I read this article with a sense of frustration as Mr Jones apparently attempted to dispel the fears of local residents. However, I suspect he has chosen not to address the elephant in the room. Aside from the fact that it is impossible to completely guarantee all potential long-term effects of a hazardous waste incinerator of this size within a heavily populated area, I feel there is an equally fundamental reason (aside from health and safety concerns), that Fornax fail to acknowledge.
Essentially, who would choose to have a monstrous incinerator accommodating thousands of trucks annually, filled with hazardous waste, planted on their doorstep?
It is all very well for Mr Jones to glibly tow the company line in terms of ‘perceived’ safety, but truthfully, does he really expect us to throw our arms open in welcome to a continuous ‘wagon-train’ of hazardous filth piling off the motorway into our town day-in, day-out and honestly believe that this is to our benefit? I think not, unless lower house prices, additional heavy-goods traffic and further downgrading of an area, just recovering from the recent land-fill issues, is something he feels that we can all celebrate.
I get that business is business, but Fornax and their CEO attempting to sell us their snake-oil in terms of future benefits and negligible impact to the surrounding area is extremely difficult to swallow. Please give us credit for knowing when we’re about to be dumped on again, literally…
Norman Liddle.