Hampshire Waste Services, the waste treatment and disposal contractor, has brought together a Contact group of local people from the Southampton/Marchwood area to discuss proposals for a new energy recovery incinerator to be sited at Marchwood.

Drawn from local residents, parish councillors, conservation and environmental groups, the group is chaired by David Nicholas.  An Innovation and Technology Counsellor with the business information and advice service, Business Link Hampshire, David Nicholas lives in Chandlers Ford.

Throughout his 35 year career, he has himself been involved in projects at the leading edge of technology, starting with the development of the hovercraft when, as an award winning student, he spent the first six years of his working life with the late Sir Christopher Cockerell's team. 

The Contact Group has already had its first meetings and been briefed on the background to the plans for the new infrastructure. 
It will also be introduced to the French architect drawing up the designs for the new plant, and be given the opportunity to visit a state of the art energy recovery incinerator in South East London, currently regarded as the flagship of the UK waste management industry.

The idea of the group is to establish a two-way process of communication, providing local people with information so that they can give their feedback, drawing on their own views and those of their contacts within the community.

"This is not just a chance for people to air their views, but a real opportunity to become involved, to examine the issues, to see how the thinking shapes up and to bring their influence to bear," says Hampshire Waste project director, John Collis.  "Once the planning application has been lodged, it will be up to the Contact Group itself to decide whether to continue meeting, and in what form."

The Contact group is in keeping with the spirit of Project Integra, the waste management strategy for Hampshire, which reflects an integrated approach to communication as much as it does to the management of waste.

11 August 1999