The meeting on Thursday the 31st of August provided an opportunity for members of the public to get involved in the Stop the Incinerator campaign.

The meeting allowed local members of the public to access information about the proposed incinerator and the negative impact it would have on Whitehill, Burnbank and the rest of Hamilton.

The proposed incinerator includes a 90m high stack which would dominate the local skyline, dwarfing the South Lanarkshire county buildings which stand at 50m.

Following a community campaign, a similar proposal for a smaller incinerator on the same site was rejected by South Lanarkshire Council in 2015. The council’s rejection was then overturned by the Scottish Government.

Gerard Killen MP said:
“The meeting provided an opportunity for local people to understand the planning process and what they can do to stop unwanted developments like the incinerator.

“Too often ordinary people feel that the system works against them and they have no say in the decisions made about their local community. We want people to know that they can stand up to these proposals and we can keep our community incinerator free.”

Monica Lennon MSP said:
“Whitehill is the wrong place for an incinerator. The previous proposals were rejected by South Lanarkshire Council because they would be too close to houses and have too big an impact on the local environment. These new proposals would put the incinerator even closer and have an even bigger impact on the environment.

“It is important that we organise as a community to make sure these proposals are rejected too.”