AROUND £13,000 of taxpayers money has been "put aside" so parish councillors can launch a legal battle over controversial incinerator plans.

AROUND £13,000 of taxpayers money has been "put aside" so parish councillors can launch a legal battle over controversial incinerator plans.

Parish leaders in Quedgeley and Standish have earmarked the cash to fight Shire Hall's £500 million facility set for Javelin Park.

A member of GlosVAIN, a campaign group opposing incineration, also sits on each of the committees.

Graham Smith, vice-chairman of Quedgeley Parish Council, is a GlosVAIN member and campaigner, while the group's chairman Sue Oppenheimer sits on Standish Parish Council.

In Quedgeley, £10,000 has been put to one side while Standish earmarked about £3,000. It is expected to be used for legal advice once a planning application is submitted over the site, near the M5 in Haresfield.

Mr Smith said: "It's being held in the parish council's account, and the plan is to use it if we need to seek legal advice.

"For us to use it, we would have to take it to a vote of full council – GlosVAIN has asked parish councils to put money to one side."

He added: "The majority of people feel it's a done deal anyway but the response I've got is that people are overwhelmingly against it."

Mrs Oppenheimer said it was for whatever legal costs there might be in fighting the application. "As a last resort, it might have be for a judicial review," she said.

But the news has angered some in the community. One Quedgeley resident, who asked not to be named, said: "Not everyone will like it. This is a battle they can't win. Why not spend it on something more worthwhile, like play equipment."

Contract

Gloucestershire County Council believes the incinerator will save £150 million over the next 25 years and avoid landfill taxes.

The facility will be up and running by 2015 at the site near junction 12 of the M5 with Urbaser Balfour Beatty awarded the contract for it.

A spokeswoman for the county council said: "Quedgeley Parish Council's spending decisions are a matter for Quedgeley residents, however, like all councils, they will need to ensure their actions are legal and proportionate."