AN incinerator will "almost certainly" not be built in Lostock, according to Vale Royal Borough Council's lead councillor for waste management.

Clr Malcolm Gaskill said some sort of waste centre could be set up in Lostock but an incinerator was the least likely option.

The area's councillors reacted angrily to the suggestion that a 'thermal treatment' centre could be set up following the publication of Cheshire County Council's draft replacement waste local plan.

Twenty-three sites have been identified as possible waste disposal sites throughout Cheshire, including Griffiths Road in Lostock.

Councillors and residents have been fighting to prevent an incinerator being built in the town for years.

But Clr Gaskill said there were several other options available for the site.

He said: "As far as I'm concerned, the processes that are now available for dealing with waste don't have to include incineration."

Clr Gaskill said other possibilities included biological digestion and waste manufacture, which would not involve incineration.

He added: "The Lostock site is an industrial site and it may become some sort of centre for dealing with waste but it almost certainly won't involve an incinerator."

But he also urged residents to step up their recycling to reduce the need for other forms of waste management.

He said: "Some countries recycle 65 to 75 per cent of their household waste quite happily. If we did that, we would only need one landfill site.

"People have to start thinking in a new way."

Lostock councillor Ann McEllin, who is totally opposed to incineration, said she was relieved to hear this news.

She said: "Providing the technology is proven not to be polluting and will cause no adverse health effects on the local population, I would be more inclined to support it.

"However, a full environmental impact assessment would be needed."

rbabington@guardiangrp.co.uk