A LEGAL bid to overturn a plan to build a giant Incinerator at Ardley is set to go before the High Court in July.

Campaigners fighting to stop the waste burner being built near their village launched a legal challenge to overturn a decision by Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities.

But the date of the hearing has been brought forward to July 7 and 8 after an intervention from Oxfordshire County Council.

It accused the campaigners of “spoiling tactics” which threatened “to hold thousands of Oxfordshire tax-payers to ransom”.

The council said continuing to use landfill for waste risked incurring huge tax costs in the coming years. And it said the legal challenge by the Ardley Against the Incinerator group’s challenge risked ultimately wasting several million pounds of public money.

The council signed a 25-year contract to build the Ardley incinerator with waste firm Viridor after planning permission was granted by the Secretary of State following a public inquiry.

County council leader Keith Mitchell said: “The arguments have now all been heard extensively and the facility has been approved by both an independent planning inspector and the Secretary of State. It is in the strong public interest that this unfounded challenge is determined urgently.

“This is a much-needed facility that will deliver environmental and financial benefits for Oxfordshire and any delay will increase the cost to the public purse.

“Quite simply it is unacceptable for Ardley Against the Incinerator to hold thousands of Oxfordshire tax-payers to ransom in this way.”

He added: “To be faced with potentially significant cost increases due to delay from a self-serving challenge is a serious cause of concern and a waste of public money. It is good news that the judge has agreed to hold an early hearing so this issue can be resolved and the much-needed Ardley facility delivered on time.”

But Jon O’Neill, chairman of the action group Ardley Against the Incinerator, said: “The county council is behaving like children throwing toys out of the pram.

“If the council had done its job with proper diligence there would have been no legal challenge and the county council would not have ended up with only one type of technology.

“It has put all its eggs in one basket and is now desperate to push this through at all costs.”

He said the group had been prepared for the court date being brought forward.

The incinerator at Ardley Fields would be capable of burning up to 300,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Meanwhile, Bicester's planned 5,000-home eco-town could be powered by the Ardley incinerator due to be built less than two miles away.

A report said eco-homes and businesses could tap into steam which is usually released into the atmosphere. That would mean fewer emissions, reducing the need for gas and oil, and bring cheaper electricity for residents.

Waste firm Viridor, which has been given planning permission to build the incinerator, said it had not been approached by the eco-town developer.

Michael Gibbard, Cherwell District Council’s portfolio holder for planning and housing, said there was a condition in the planning approval that the use of waste heat from the incinerator should be looked at. He said: “If the incinerator does go ahead, any development at North West Bicester would be a potential location that could use the heat. The use of the heat would be a sustainable source of energy.”