Floundering waste plans have run into renewed trouble after councillors in East Sussex chose a site inside Brighton and Hove to burn thousands of tons of rubbish.

East Sussex County Council's ruling cabinet last night unpicked two years of work and agreed a controversial waste to energy incinerator should be built at Waterhall, on the northern fringe of Brighton.

The vote came despite the strong recommendation from the council's own officials that North Quay, in Newhaven, was the most suitable site for a burner.

The decision, which has yet to be endorsed by the full county council, brought an immediate rebuke from Brighton and Hove.

Council leader Lynette Gwyn-Jones said North Quay had been proved the best site for an incinerator to burn waste from Brighton and Hove and the western half of East Sussex.

She said: "Calling for Waterhall is a pointless political gesture which is not supported by any technical advice and anyway would have no hope of getting through a planning inquiry."

Agreeing where to house an incinerator in the west of the county is the major remaining sticking point in waste plans being drawn up jointly by the two councils.

County councillors have already agreed a burner serving the east of the county should be built at Mountfield Mine, near Robertsbridge.

But they have consistently shied away from selecting Newhaven for the second incinerator, favoured by Brighton and Hove.

The continuing failure to reach an agreement could jeopardise £49 million promised by the Government towards a private finance initiative deal worth an estimated £1 billion during the lifetime of the plans.

County council leader David Rogers said a fresh site had to be found after his council vote overwhelmingly last December to reject building in Newhaven.

He said: "I believe there needs to be a site for an energy from waste plant in the Brighton and Hove area.

"If Brighton and Hove wants to propose an alternative to that, that is OK. We will listen to it."

Councillors were warned before they voted that Waterhall, at the junction of the A23 and A27 and inside the Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, was unlikely to be accepted by the Secretary of State.

Bob Wilkins, the county council's environment and transport director, said: "It is my view that you will not succeed with a location in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty if there is a site outside, and I think there is."

The already selected Mountfield Mine site in inside the High Weald AONB, while Beddingham, the possible site of last resort if the two councils fail to agree and alternative, is inside the Sussex Downs AONB.

Conservationists reacted angrily to the prospect of building an incinerator at Waterhall, which last month was ruled out as the site for park and ride site by councillors in Brighton and Hove.

Chris Todd, of Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth, said: "I think it is irresponsible and I think it highlights the need for a national park because local authorities clearly cannot be trusted to protect the Downs."

Pressure group DOVE (Defend Ouse Valley and Estuary) said it had been taken by surprise by the decision.

Chairman Joelle van Tinteren said: "This was completely unexpected.

"We don't know how Brighton and Hove will react.

"Naturally we would like them to feel the same way as us.

"If they come out against incineration too then obviously we have a common interest.

"Meanwhile, everyone needs to stay very alert.

"Simply switching locations does not solve the problems associated with this flawed technology."