IT CAN come as no surprise that news of a controversial waste-fuelled £330m power plant, to be built near the banks of the Mersey, has gone down like a lead balloon in some quarters.

Lurid claims are being made that it will create a "25-year nightmare" for the people of Liverpool and Runcorn.

Ineos Chlor will be allowed to construct the combined heat and power station at its chemical plant in Runcorn. The plant will have the capacity to take waste from Merseyside, Halton, Cheshire, Warrington and Manchester.

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks made the decision to allow the development, despite an ongoing campaign of opposition from those living in the shadow of the plant.

Campaigners last year unsuccessfully called on the council to demand a public inquiry into the scheme.

The anti-incinerator campaigners claim there is a risk of health-damaging dioxins being released into the atmosphere, whereas the industry maintains the plants are far cleaner than earlier versions.

Ineos Chlor is the world’s largest chlorinated paraffins producer, as well as making chemicals for paints, lubricants, sealants and adhesives at sites across Europe.

The company spends in the region of £100m-a-year on power generation and the heart of the Runcorn plant, about the size of a football pitch, uses the same amount of electricity as the entire city of Liverpool.

Ineos Chlor argues that its plant will mean less household waste being sent to landfill, while the power it generates will reduce the impact of rising energy costs on its business, helping to underpin the many thousands of jobs that are dependent on the site.

It is up to the company now to reassure residents that this is the case, and also that its proposed development will not pose a threat to human health or the environment.