THE GREAT WASTE DEBATE - AN EVENING ARGUS CAMPAIGN

DAY 3: Press and public kept out of secret meeting to decide the fate of the 350 proposed sites for waste disposal

THESE are the 12 councillors who will today discuss in secret which of 350 sites across Sussex are suitable for future waste disposal.

This small sub committee of West Sussex County Council has decided the public and the press have no right to know exactly which sites they are discussing.

The reason given for keeping this information secret varies from the assertion that some sites must be kept confidential for commercial reasons through to the paternalistic argument that people should not be frightened without reason.

The decision to keep the session private was immediately slammed by Labour councillors in Adur.

The criticism was led by Coun Barry Mear who represents Sompting where the controversial waste station in Halewick Lane will be among the sites discussed.

He said: "This latest example of county council secrecy on planned incinerators does nothing to reassure local residents and I am calling on the county council to come clean and openly publicise their hit-list of incinerator sites."

These are the 12 members of the minerals and waste planning sub committee which is due to meet to discuss the sites at County Hall in Chichester this morning:

l Harold Hall - committee chairman - Conservative

l Peter Jones - vice-chairman - Conservative

l William Acraman - Conservative

l Alan Phillips - Conservative

l Ian Elliot - Conservative

l Sarah Greenwell - Conservative

l Frank Wilkinson - Conservative

l Sydney Little - Lib Dem

l Nick Rodgers - Lib Dem

l Michael Hall - Lib Dem

l Tony Balsdon - Lib Dem

l James Smith - Labour

The agenda of today's meeting lists three reasons why the discussion is being held in secret.

These reasons are that some of the sites were commercially confidential while others were possibly contaminated and such sensitive information should be withheld from the public.

Finally, not all the landowners had been contacted and it was not considered fair to name such sites in public without their knowledge.

When the Argus confronted committee members about these reasons they remained unapologetic.

Coun Sydney Little said: "Some of the sites under investigation are only likely to throw up hares which people will start chasing.

"In all likelihood 99 per cent of these sites will be disregarded and I think it's unfair to frighten the life out of people unnecessarily.

"I think the time for people to be told is when you come up with sites that are to be further investigated.

"I don't think it's against the public interest. Our task is to weed out from the whole list those sites that are possible and then consult the public."

Coun Frank Wilkinson, chairman of general purposes, said: "I can say this on my wife's life - we do not have a hit-list of sites.

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss. What's the point of letting someone think something is going to happen in their area if it never will? You simply worry people who start to campaign for no reason."

A former Mayor of Worthing, who supports incinerators, has also been barred from attending today's meeting.

Lib Dem Peter Green asked to sit in on the discussions because of his special interest in the subject.

But he has been told that only members of the committee or their nominated substitutes can have access to the papers and listen to the debate.

Coun Green said: "I am frustrated more than angry. I have never passed on any confidential information and I just want to know what is going on.

"This is a subject which I have a genuine interest in."

Coun Green told a recent meeting that he would be happy to defend an incinerator being built in the right location at Worthing.

He says County Hall needs to explain the facts to people about modern rubbish burning plants.

Coun Green added: "We should be talking to the public and not trying to hide anything."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.