Day 20 - 27th January 2014

Post date: Jan 28, 2014 9:32:43 PM

Day 20 opened with Mr Roberts still in the witness box and still being cross examined by GlosVAIN’s Alan Watson. Our birthday boy, Mr Watson, put up a gritty fight to show that the figures of waste forecasts used by UBB to try and prove the need for such a big burner were over estimated and indeed much too high when compared against the latest DEFRA annual figures. Mr. Roberts wriggled and attempted to say the latest DEFRA figures were not lodged as core evidence so as they could not be quoted. However Mr Watson had indeed lodged them to make his case and Mr. Roberts’s forecasts looked unconvincing against the facts of the DEFRA figures.

It was however the Inspector who was responsible for eliciting the quote of the Inquiry from Mr. Roberts when he asked him if ‘I was minded to dismiss the appeal couldn't UBB just re-apply for planning with a smaller building?’ and was answered that it was not that simple because there was no guarantee that it would pass the planning committee as ‘Every-body wants MBT.’

It has taken to day 20 to get the man described as the UBB Ringmaster to finally say the words we all agree with – ‘Every-body wants MBT’.