A DECISION on whether to allow an incinerator on the Croydon/Sutton border was dramatically deferred on Wednesday night.
Sutton Council officers had recommended Viridor's plan for the energy and waste facility be approved, but councillors could not be split when they voted.
The chair of Sutton's development control committee, Councillor John Leach, voted for the plans but decided not to exercise his casting vote.
Instead he chose to defer the decision on the 250,000-tonne per year facility, giving more time to weigh up the pros and cons and consider more planning conditions with developer Viridor.
The Green Party's Gordon Ross, who was among more than 60 objectors at the meeting, welcomed the move.
"We were standing in the gallows with a noose around our neck and somebody came and shot a bullet through the rope," he said.
The council's planning officers had recommended approval for the planned facility in Beddington Lane.
The plant would burn waste otherwise destined for landfill and create electricity and heat for outside use.
It would allow the South London Waste Partnership to fulfil its side of a 25-year waste-management contract with Viridor.
The committee faced huge pressure during the meeting, with objectors, including other councillors, lining up to speak out against the plans.
Beddington North councillor John Keys, Labour, told the committee: "What's in this application for local people?
"I can see absolutely nothing. As an asthma sufferer myself , I have enough problems with the traffic in the area already."
Fellow ward councillor Pathumal Ali said: "I can safely say that residents do understand that the long-term solution is not landfill, but feel an energy recovery facility is not the way forward.
"With tech forever advancing, will the borough be stuck with an out of date facility?"
Dennis Philpott, from the Beddington Residents' Association, also spoke out against the proposals, pointing to a 743-signature petition against them.
"Surely this reflects the public view that the incinerator is not wanted in this area?" he said.
Anti-incinerator campaigner Shasha Khan, of the Green Party, Croydon branch, told the committee members:
"I don't envy your task tonight, however it is your task tonight and your constituents are pleading with you to go against the recommendations of your officers […] and all the pressure you have been under and reject this application."
Viridor representatives at the meeting countered their facility was a safe and efficient way to deal with the waste.
But opponents have pointed to health and environmental concerns, and the plan has faced hefty, widespread opposition.
