OPPONENTS of the incinerator plans are demanding Croydon Council comes clean on its stance on the controversial proposals.
Labour councillor Stuart Collins has tabled a question for this week's council meeting asking for clarification of the authority's position on the application from Viridor to build the incinerator in Beddington Lane on the Croydon/Sutton border.
As part of the South London Waste Partnership, the council has backed the choice of Viridor as the partnership's preferred bidder for the project, which will burn about 200,000 tonnes of waste a year.
But leaders have always maintained that the planning application, which is being dealt with by Sutton Council, will be looked at as separate matter.
Cllr Collins said this week: "I am asking what role the council has in giving support to Croydon residents who oppose the incinerator, or is it simply going to agree with it?"
The Broad Green councillor said residents in his ward and nearby Waddon were hugely opposed to the proposals and said he believed the council should recognise that.
He added: "Why should these residents go into the fight without any support from the council and its planners?"
Councillor Jason Perry, Croydon's cabinet member for planning, said the application would be presented to a meeting of the council's strategic planning committee within the next few weeks.
Although Croydon has no part in the formal decision-making process, as a neighbouring authority it is being consulted.
Cllr Perry said: "This application is important enough for it to be considered by members of the committee and it will be open to them to raise any concerns with Sutton they may have about the plans."
A decision on Viridor's scheme is expected from Sutton's development control committee in late April or early May.
This week, the Stop the Incinerator campaign has urged residents to get behind its opposition by writing to Sutton Council's planning department and the Mayor of London.
The campaign claims the incinerator is not needed because most rubbish can be recycled or reused if the right facilities are provided.
It also raises issues about toxic emissions from the burning process and an increase in traffic from lorries bringing rubbish to the site.
In addition, campaigners suggest the area will become the "rubbish dump of southern England" because there will not be enough waste generated locally to keep the incinerator running efficiently.
